Fallen Angel
by Shadeflame Phoenix
Summary: AU. Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it? My first story, please R&R! Pairings: Kurtty
1. Worlds Apart

This is my first fanfic, so please no flames! Just review. I want to know if this is a good idea, cuz I already have the entire next chapter typed. If I get at least three reviews (doesn't matter if they're from the same person, though I'd prefer different people) I'll post the next chappy. Thanks guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own XME, if I did, well… let's just say it's good I _don't_ own it, okay? I do own my plot and charries though.

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

EDIT NOTE: I have gone over the story and added in a few things here or there, clarifying some of it because there are some points where it's not very clear and changed a few things as well. Also, the biggest story change here is the ENDING. I know I disappeared for a while, and over that time period I had time to think about where I actually wanted to go with this story, and I figured out a better ending, with a differently-styled sequel (also differently-named) attached. This way, I think, will turn out better than my original ending. I have reformatted the style, so it's a bit more uniform, and I'm reposting every chapter, leaving the original Author's Notes alone, except ones pertaining to the sequel (which I will change accordingly) So, read, people of FanFiction, and know my story _Fallen Angel_.

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

1. Worlds Apart

Leaves rustled in the thin wind, blowing between the tall trees' shadows in the dark moonlight piercing through the tops of the branches reaching into the night sky.

However, one should not be deceived by the night—stranger things existed here than anywhere else—and people knew it, and avoided the Forest like the plague. For it was rumored that the Fallen lived here—demonic angel-like creatures that were said to be evil.

And this is where our story begins…

The thick autumn leaves blew across the nearly-invisible path between the thick trunks of the age-old trees. Glowing eyes peered through the bracken fronds, down at a thin ring of lights down in the valley below. A whisper slipped through the wind: "This is the place?" The voice sounded young, about teenager age, and male.

"Yes." The second speaker's tone was expressionless, but held a distinctly lower pitch then the others'; this voice was female.

"Good. Now can we go? I do not want to see pitchforks on the menu again." The boy's voice quavered slightly at the thought of the sharp, pronged tools that had been used against them on their last, and rather spontaneous, visit to the human settlement.

"You have a point there…" the female trailed off, as her dark, glowing eyes perceived a movement in the village below. "It's the girl…" she muttered ominously, her voice dropping.

The male, whose name was Kurt, peered over the bushes at the lights. "Are you sure, Shade? I mean, I could—"

"My eyes don't lie," she informed him.

"Oh. Well, are you sure we can't just—"

Shade cut him off again. "You know we can't. I don't care how long you've been mooning over her, you can't reveal yourself!" She turned away, bounding into a square of moonlight, the silver light highlighting the features that made humans believe that the Fallen were really fallen angels.

Her ears were pointed; her dark eyes slanted slightly, her face unblemished. She had very tan skin, almost black in the moonlight. Her black hair hung in bangs down the side of her face. From behind her back, midnight-black wings rose in a pile of feathers.

After a moment's hesitation, Kurt came out to join her. He, too, had pointed ears, as well as a pointed dragon-like tail that swirled behind him. He had short, blue fur that covered his body. His only slightly darker blue hair framed his face in long locks. He had glowing golden eyes, and from his back sprouted two azure-blue wings.

"We go?" he asked mournfully.

Shade nodded, muttering, "'It doesn't do to tally with mortals' or so the saying goes… Come on." She launched into the air.

With one last sad look at the human settlement below, Kurt followed.

* * *

Kitty wandered the grounds of the temple—she was always there, it seemed. Even among humans she stood out, with the strange tattoo on her back that she'd never seen, but everyone whispered about. Her mother had told her not to look at it when she was younger, and it grew into a habit. The only part of it she'd ever seen was the tip of a blue-black feather on her shoulder. Then, for the rest of the night, her mind had been preoccupied with trying to figure out what it looked like without actually seeing it. It had become a part of her life, now.

Now, she had bigger things to worry about. She was fifteen, old enough to leave the temple.

But she chose not to. Why? Simply because she liked it here. The settlement of Girva had always been her home, and there was the Forest, too. She liked to sit and stare at the old trees, imagining meeting a demon or even one of the Fallen in there. She'd never actually gotten that close to the Forest before, due to the fact that there was someone always watching and always caught her before she reached the meadow.

She had actually always wanted to meet one of the Fallen—she wanted to know if they really were like angels, and if they were as evil as everyone said.

But she'd never had a chance.

Not until now. Everyone was at the Festival of Fire, and even though she was supposed to be there, she had feigned sick and stayed behind. And now her chance had come! No one was in sight. Her evil plan was working!

She slipped across the grounds of the temple, grabbing her bag along the way, prepared in case such an opportunity should arise.

Kitty skittered across the fields; then sprinted for the meadow, the wind whipping back her hair as she ran through the meadow, filled with wildflowers at this time of year.

She almost jumped for joy when she reached the first trees. She was finally in the Forest!

* * *

Kurt blinked, surprised. "What do you mean she's _here_?"

Shade, along with a young Fallen named Fira, nodded. Fira said quietly, "I saw her. She's got brown hair in a ponytail, and pretty blue eyes. No wonder you like her. She's the one who's always watching the Forest, with a look of…" She searched for the right word. "…longing, is what it looks like… But why would she want to be _here_, of all places, when she's a human?"

"Never mind that," said Kurt hastily. "Shade, do you know where she is?"

The other girl nodded. "I gleaned enough from Fira's memories." Fira could transmit messages and images with her mind, a special gift among the Fallen.

"Take me there!" he snapped.

"What?" Shade's voice mirrored her look of shock.

"Take me there!" Kurt repeated. "If I don't go, someone else will show up and try to…I don't know…eat her!"

Shade shook her head in exasperation. "Kurt, we don't eat people."

"I know that, but something else might…you know…"

"Ugh! Fine, come on. I'll guide you." She held out one hand to him. He took it, and with a brief flash of light and smoke, they were gone.

The two Fallen landed with a bit more noise than Kurt had intended. As Kitty looked up, confused, Shade glared down at Kurt.

"Sorry. Got to work on my re-entries." he admitted sheepishly.

"See that you do!" Shade snapped. "You could've teleported us right in front of her, and imagine how that would have looked!"

"Bad?" Kurt mumbled.

"Not just bad! Very bad! As in, bad to the extreme!" Shade hissed. "Now get out of here! Do what you have to! And don't expect me to help!" And she turned and melted into the shadows.

"Touchy, touchy…" muttered Kurt, and teleported.

* * *

Kitty looked around slowly. Had she heard something? Or was it just her mind playing tricks on her?

Footsteps behind her made her turn. "Hello?" she called nervously.

"Shouting like that will only attract the bad spirits," said a voice from behind her. She whirled around to see a boy, about her age, with blue hair and fur; he had pointed ears and glowing eyes. She could just barely see the tips of his wings, folded against his back.

A Fallen!

The smile he offered seemed genuine, albeit the fact that he had fangs.

"You…you're a Fallen? Not any bad spirit, right?" she asked.

"My name is Kurt. You are…Kitty, yes? And, yes, I am Fallen, and no, I am not a bad spirit."

Her surprise at his knowing her name must've showed on her face, because he laughed and said, "I've seen you, looking out your window. You look over here a lot." He smiled again.

"Y-you know about that?" Kitty stammered, her nerves beginning to show.

"Don't worry, I don't mind," he grinned. "And now you have finally come here!"

"I've always wanted to, actually…" she admitted sheepishly. "I've always wanted to meet a Fallen, ever since I was a kid."

"Why?" He seemed curious.

"Well, because…you weren't normal. I don't like normal that much." She smiled hesitantly. "But I'd better go now. I was supposed to be going to the Festival of Fire. Um… I'll try to come again. Bye!" She ran back through the trees.

Kurt looked after her. "That was one meeting I won't forget…" he murmured, and with another burst of light and smoke, he was gone.

* * *

All right, first chapter done! Don't forget to review, plz! Three reviews = next chappy~ Working on 3rd right now.

~Shadey (Shadeflame Phoenix)


	2. Meeting and Tattoo

All right, I decided to put up the second chapter, cuz I got bored. So read and review, plz! No flames!

Disclaimer: I don't own XME, I only own my characters and my plots~. No stealy meh charries unless I say so!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

2. Meeting and Tattoo

Kitty scribbled the last words onto her letter and carefully slipped it into the tiny container on her desk. A knock at the window distracted her. She went over and unlatched it, surprised to see Fira standing below it in broad daylight.

"Fira!" She tugged the girl into the shadows. "What if someone sees you?"

Fira was the designated messenger. She had always come at night before, so this was the first time Kitty had ever seen her in the light.

She had brown hair tied back into two ponytails; she had tan skin and leaf–green eyes; like the others, she had pointy ears. Her tawny wings were folded flat against her back. She shrugged and held out one hand for the container. Kitty gave it to her and watched as she slipped it into a pouch on her belt.

"Why have you come now?" asked Kitty quietly.

Fira's eyes darted nervously. "It's dangerous at night now," she murmured, her eyes flicking over the stack of pitchforks, hoes, and rakes in a messy pile near the meadow.

"Surely they won't go into the Forest?" muttered Kitty; appalled at the very idea. Did the people think they could take on the Fallen with their inhuman qualities and strengths, as well as their strange powers?

"Maybe…" Fira looked down. "I'd better go." She winked at Kitty and vanished, becoming invisible in a second. Though Kitty could no longer see the young Fallen, she saw the grass being moved away by Fira's passage. She leaned back into her room, closing the window. What was going on in the Forest?

She had to find out.

* * *

Night had descended upon the valley. Kitty looked up at the shining moon. She crept across her room and unlatched the window, crawling out through it, crawling through the meadow, eventually reaching the trees after being scared half to death by the squeaks of a lone field mouse.

She wandered through the tall, thick trees. "Hello?" she whispered, remembering Kurt's warning about shouting in this place—she did _not_ want to attract any bad spirits!

"You should not have come here."

The voice startled her into motion. She turned, trying to see into the shadows in the trees, but her night vision was rather bad, and she saw only the tree-shadows.

There was a soft thump as something landed behind her. Kitty looked to see not Kurt, but someone who looked somewhat like him, although she was female.

The woman had glowing golden eyes and blue skin. Her hair was not blue, but orange, a strange color with all the blue. Her wings, folded against her back, were blue as well. She had no tail, unlike Kurt.

"You should not have come here." she repeated.

"I'm sorry," muttered Kitty. "Um, do you know Kurt? Because I—"

"I know him. What about him?" Her eyes seemed to follow Kitty's every movement.

"Well, I… I wanted to see him," said Kitty.

"You will not see him tonight. He is busy with the rest of our warriors."

"So it's true?" Kitty gasped. "You're really going to attack us?"

The woman's eyes gleamed and she bared her teeth, also fanged like Kurt's. "_They_ attacked _us_, not the other way around!"

"Huh?"

"It is what they chose. They may have superior numbers, but they will find that not everything in the Forest is as _friendly_ as we are!"

"Um…" Kitty blinked.

"What?"

"Actually, I don't think they are willing to fight you… I heard the elders discussing something else…" she trailed off. Should she be telling the secrets to this Fallen that she didn't even know? Despite everything that was said about her, she was still _human_, right?

"Not so willing to give up your secrets, eh?" the woman smiled, not quite unkindly, her eyes flickering in the light. "But as you will soon realize, you are not as human as you think you are…"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kitty stammered.

"Your tattoo. I've heard the other humans whispering about you… Did you know they believe you have some Fallen blood in you?" Her eyes glittered in the darkness.

Kitty stood there, shocked. She sensed the Fallen was telling the truth, but why would the others say that about her? What had she done to make them think she had Fallen blood in her?

"Why?" she asked slowly, surprised to find her voice not shaking. It was as though a truth had been revealed to her, yet she'd known it all along.

"Why?" the woman repeated. "Ask _yourself_ that. Maybe you'll come up with an answer."

"It's my tattoo, isn't it?" Kitty looked at the ground, feeling salty tears well up in her eyes.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Oh, I almost forgot something. Kurt wanted you to have this." A paper floated to the ground at Kitty's feet.

"Huh?" She picked it up. It was a picture of a village in the trees, surrounded by a ring of mountains, a waterfall in the background. The houses were in the trees, a tangled grouping, with rope bridges strung between them in a network of passages. "Where is this place?"

"It's our village. Kurt wanted you to have at least had a picture of it, since he sincerely doubts you'll ever see it…but one never pretends to know the will of the world."

Kitty nodded numbly. Her throat was dry. As the woman turned away, preparing to leave, Kitty said, "Wait." She felt she owed no allegiance to the humans anymore. _How long have they kept this secret from me, yet talked about it behind my back? _She looked up. "They—they're planning to burn down the Forest!"

"When?"

"At full moon—about a week and a half from now."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "We'll be ready for them."

"Wait!" Kitty called again.

"What _now_?"

"What's your name?" Kitty held her breath.

But the Fallen woman only answered, "Names are powerful things in a place like this. I would not tell you it yet, because I do not yet trust you. The fact that Kurt told you his name right away shows he trusts you."

Instead of flying away, she simply vanished in a flash of crackling white light. Kitty was alone again. She looked at the scrap of paper again. "I'll treasure it always," she whispered to the trees, and turned and headed for home, determined to find out what her tattoo looked like, and mull over tonight's revealed secrets.

* * *

Kitty looked into the mirror. She felt her apprehension like a coldness in the room. What was it about her tattoo that made the other people of Girva think she had Fallen blood?

Slowly she turned around, her eyes flicking over the intricate lines and swirls of the tattoo, the blue-black color seeming almost purple in the dim light from her lantern sitting on the table.

Across her back traced the outline of folded wings—and that wasn't all. Kitty had seen this pattern of feathers only thrice before. The first time, with Kurt, the second time, with Fira, and just now, with the woman who looked as if she could be one of Kurt's relatives.

The feathers on her back were meant to look like a Fallen's wings.

Kitty's breath caught in her throat. What did this mean? Her mind was whirling. Was she a human? She looked like one, for sure. She traced the edge of one feather, and even though she could see it was merely a part of the tattoo, why did it seem like there were feathers under her hands?

What did it all mean?

Was she…a Fallen?

Or, at least…not completely human?

* * *

So that's the second chapter! Mweh~ Yes, I'm sure some of the characters seem OOC, but that's the way my story's plot's supposed to work. So deal with it, hah! Read and review, you know you want to~!

~Shadey

P.S. You won't see many of the other characters in here, simply cuz I don't know where to put them, and have no part for them. So if you think there's an unusual abscence of other characters, you're right!


	3. The Power of the Elements

Thanks for all the reviews; I noticed there was some advice as well as a question. The reason it seems fast is because Kitty doesn't really stay at the village long - at least in the story. She spends more time in the Fallen's village - and it'll get slower from here, cuz there is stuff that does need to happen, but I try to be detailed. So, plz keep reading and reviewing - it's nice to know there are at least a couple of you that like my story - although I don't know how many people have read it and not reviewed. Thanks anyways, guys!

-And the wording for the title's not in the center of the screen cuz my computer keeps messing up. Ignore it.

Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own XME.

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

3. The Power of the Elements

Kitty stood by her door, still shaken from last night. Was she a Fallen? She certainly didn't have their grace or strength, but what had made her eligible to become a priestess and live at the temple were the powers she had—could they have come from a Fallen?

Her powers were not easy to awaken—she had to be in a grave, possibly life-threatening situation in order for her power to work; other than that, she had a very hard time even getting a spark of power to come to her.

And her powers were thus: dominion over the elements (water, fire, earth, air), as well as some other things—dark (shadow), light (sun), and lightning (energy).

She had been told that her powers were special—but now she wondered: Were they Fallen powers after all? Was that why everyone whispered?

She shrugged it off. Fira would come with another message, right?

And things would go back to almost-normal…right?

And yet she had no idea of what was to come…

* * *

Kurt teleported between the trees, watching the progress of some humans with pitchforks and blazing torches. "No… Kitty said _later_!" he whispered to himself, teleporting back to Treehaven, home of the Fallen.

"Shade!" he called, spotting the dark/light elemental trudging by.

"Kurt?" Her head whipped up. "What is it?"

"Some of them are coming! Already!"

As if on cue, towards the eastern edge of the Forest—where the humans lived—tendrils of smoke were drifting up from the treetops.

"No!" Shade stood frozen, her dark eyes following the smoke. Then her eyes grew impossibly larger. "Fira!" she said hoarsely.

"Huh?" Kurt's mind had gone blank with terror.

"Fira! She's gone to deliver your message to Kitty!" Shade's eyes blazed. "She doesn't know anything! But you know what she'll do!"

"I know…" Kurt's voice trailed off. "Come on! We've got to help her!" Shade grabbed his hand and they disappeared.

* * *

Kitty watched with growing horror at the procession going into the Forest—humans armed with pitchforks, rakes, even blunt daggers, as well as torches, burning dimly in the near-twilight.

"No…" she whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes. How could they do this?

There was a faint knock on the windowpane, and she ran over, spying Fira below the ledge.

"Fira?" she asked worriedly, throwing open the window and vaulting over the edge, landing beside the young Fallen girl.

Fira's clothes were smoke-stained, her face and hands covered with bruises. Her eyes were sooty where she'd tried to rub away the smoke, and glazed as she stared off into the distance.

"Fira?" Kitty shook her lightly. The Fallen's eyes snapped open. "They came…" she coughed in a thin voice. "Too many…tried to run…" She erupted into a fit of coughing.

Kitty picked up Fira gently, rage making her tremble. Had Fira done anything to warrant this unjust attack? Probably not; she knew that Fira wasn't a great fighter, though she had a certain amount of tricks up her sleeve. Angry tears streaked down her face as some of the smoke from the burning Forest drifted over the settlement. She ran blindly, stumbling over roots and burrows, but never faltering until Kurt and Shade appeared right in front of her.

She skidded to a stop just barely managing to not run into the two Fallen.

"Kitty?" Kurt began, but Shade cut him off. "No time! Grab her and go!"

"What about you?" he asked. She turned slightly, her mouth flattening into a grim line. "They've noticed us. You go now; take Kitty and Fira with you. Get them to Treehaven."

"But what about you?" he persisted.

Shade's eyes flickered. "I may not be here for you to come back for…you need to watch over them."

"I can't leave you!"

"Go!" she snarled, pushing him. He grabbed for Kitty, holding Fira with the other hand, and Kitty's world disappeared in a single moment.

* * *

Kitty's eyes hesitantly opened. Gone were the familiar houses of Girva—as well as the smoke in the air, the crackling of the fire, and the looming Forest trees, blackened from flame.

Now, she was somewhere else… She unclenched her fist, letting the small, soot-blackened paper flutter from her fist. She held up the picture. Yes, the scene before her looked much like the picture's: the Fallen haven.

Kurt scrambled to his feet beside her. "I have to go back for Shade!" Fira stirred in his arms, and he gave her to Kitty.

Kitty set down Fira gently. As Kurt prepared to teleport, without realizing it, Kitty reached out and touched his shoulder, and once again, the world vanished.

* * *

They reappeared in the burning Forest. Kurt looked down at her. "You shouldn't have followed me!"

"I'm sorry—" Kitty began, but she was cut off by the sight in front of them.

Flashes of black and white arched across the ground, shining in small bursts; Kurt's eyes widened.

Feeling utterly foolish, Kitty asked, "What is it?"

Without looking at her, he said quietly, so the people wouldn't notice them, "Shade's element is light/dark, though I know she can use lightning as well. She has never used her element before in battle… Things must be bad…"

Kitty watched as he disappeared, reappearing behind a tree; she could now see Shade, perched on a branch, orbs of shadows and light spinning from her hands. But even from this far away, Kitty could tell that Shade's grip on her element was weakening; she wouldn't last long at this rate.

Before she was aware of doing it, Kitty was rushing into the open; she was aware, vaguely, of shouts nearby; of Kurt's appearance next to Shade; she barely remembered crying out—the world seemed to disappear in flashes of light.

She heard rather than saw Kurt reappear next to her, Shade beside him. Fire was raining down onto them; Kitty heard herself shout, remembering burning power building within her, looking for a way out—until she could contain it no longer and a burst of brilliant white light exploded from her fingertips; then the world faded into a sea of blackness.

* * *

Light slowly trickled back into Kitty's vision—there was no smoke to obstruct it, no smell of burning—so she assumed that she was back where the Fallen lived.

A face leaned over her. It was Kurt. "You're awake!" he said happily.

"Yeah… What's going on?" She lifted her head hesitantly, seeing more Fallen gathered around—at least three or four besides Kurt. There was Shade and Fira; the woman she'd met in the Forest—whose name she had learned was Mystique and one other that she'd never met, but had seen next to Fira—maybe her sister?

Kurt glanced uneasily at the others. "They're here to talk to you," he said carefully, almost cautiously.

"Why?" It seemed like a good question at the time.

Shade stepped forwards, staggering slightly. "You don't remember what happened, do you?"

"Huh?" Kitty thought back to her time in the burning Forest. "Um…not really…" She felt she was missing something important, and that was why the Fallen were here.

Kurt spoke. "What do you last remember?"

"We were in the Forest…the humans were attacking, there was fire everywhere…" She paused to gather her thoughts. "I…I'm not sure what happened—I only remember feeling like my blood was on fire and that I would burst if I didn't release the power… What did I do?"

"What you did abandons all theories on being able to control only a few elements—although technically, you'd think that dark/light were two different elements…" Kurt blinked. "You released the power of all the elements together! Your power is to _harness_ the elements' powers!"

"What?"

Kitty felt as though a chasm had opened up beneath her feet, and she was teetering on the edge, about to plunge into the depths below. How had her life gone from so normal to _this_?

"Kitty…" Kurt's voice distracted her from her internal musings.

"Yeah?"

"That's not all that happened…"

Kitty stood up slowly, feeling an uneven weight on her back. Her blood seemed to turn to ice with shock. "No…" she whispered, her eyes widening as she turned to look.

Where her tattoo had been, there now sprouted two brown wings, their uneven feathers clumping together in a ragged pile—in the exact pattern as her tattoo; Fallen's wings…

Kitty just stared at them, her mouth dropping open. How had that happened? Her mind reeled from the possibilities; it was only until Kurt stepped forwards and told her directly, did she believe the words, thoughts.

"Your Fallen blood is reacting to your release of the power—soon, I imagine, you'll become one of us."

She would become a Fallen?

* * *

Okay, that's the third chapter - it still seems kinda fast, I'm sure, but I'll make it slower, kay? Working on fourth chapter now. Please review - you know you want to!

~Shadey

P.S. I'm thinking about making the upgrades easier to do - I'll try and post a chapter every Saturday - I don't get much time on the weekdays, because my computer has 'Parental Controls' and I have time limits. So, from now on, the updates will be on Saturdays. I've done three chapters this week for starters, next week will be on Saturday - if it's not, it'll be because of powers beyond my control - namely, my parents. So review, and don't get mad at me because I'm not updating!


	4. Training

Here's the fourth chapter of meh story! I tried really hard to make it slow, so if it seems too slow to you, plz tell me! This one only covers one day, and I tried to get in as much detail as I could. So plz read and review~!

Disclaimer: Do we really need this? I've already said it three times…

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

4. Training

Kitty sat by the edge of the balcony of the house she'd been assigned. She wondered how everything had turned upside-down in a matter of days.

Last week, she had been normal, her life normal, with the exception of watching the Forest every now and then—but what kid didn't? Everyone she knew had once dreamed of adventuring in the Forest, no matter what the dangers were.

Then her world had been shattered by the arrival of Kurt, and her letters sent with Fira. Just as she was picking up the pieces and beginning to put them back together, her life had been utterly changed again—with the attack on the Forest, releasing the elemental power (at least it had worked for her, though) wings forming on her back.

Now that she was putting the pieces together for the third time, would her fragile self-control be crushed once again? She didn't know anymore. Who could she trust? That word was coming up a lot in her thoughts these days—trust. Is that what it came down to? Whether or not someone could be trusted?

Kitty hugged her knees to her chest, looking out on the deceptively beautiful sunrise—from Treehaven you could not see the fire-ravaged section of the Forest—only the tops of the trees' leaves that had been stained by smoke.

Kurt appeared next to her. "Kitty? What are you doing out here?"

"Watching the sunrise," she muttered. "Kurt?"

"Yah?"

"Do you…do you think the humans will attack again?" Kitty's voice shook slightly as she thought of the raw power she'd unleashed that night, and shuddered at the thought of repeating the experience. Her mind told her though, _As if you could!_

"It's possible," Kurt conceded, sitting down next to her. "But, they also need time to prepare, as well as we do. This is why you're coming with me."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"You need to learn to control your powers. So you'll train with a separate element every day. I can do fire, Fira's water, Shade's dark and light, ummm…" he thought. "Kyana—you don't know her—will do earth, Riau—you don't know him either—is doing air… Did you know lightning's a really rare element?"

"No…does anyone here have it?" Kitty was intrigued by the idea.

"Currently, there are only two Fallen in Treehaven that know lightning's powers—although she's already teaching you one element, Shade has agreed to do lightning for you… The other person was too busy anyway." Kurt paused. "You're studying…lightning _today_, I think…"

"Really?" Kitty blinked and got to her feet. "All right…Take me wherever I'm supposed to go." She held out one hand. Kurt grabbed it and with a poof of smoke, they were gone.

The two appeared in a sandy hollow, studded with a few rocks, in the Forest, ringed by trees, but they were near enough to Treehaven that Kitty could see the edges of the houses.

"So this is where you train?" Kitty looked around. "Huh…"

"You're finally here, eh?" The familiar voice made Kitty look up. There, perched on one of the trees, was Shade.

The dark-haired Fallen landed in front of Kitty, skidding slightly on the sands. In one hand she was tossing a lightning orb up and down. She grinned evilly. "So, you up for it?"

* * *

Kitty had gradually learned that when one is learning from Shade, the best thing to do is to be blunt—no beating around the bush, no long waiting to come up with an answer, no blank looks—Shade preferred if you said that you didn't know—if you didn't, naturally, it would turn out to make you look like an idiot in the near future. Unfortunately for Kitty, she had to resort to saying "I don't know" to a majority of the questions and/or attacks she was trying to learn—simply because she was, sadly, unlearned in the realm of Fallen fighting—with or without the aid of elements.

Once again she had answered, "I don't know," leaving Shade to growl at her extreme incompetence as she looked up at the sun, gauging how long their training session had been going on by the position of the sun.

Kitty sighed—she had been up since dawn, been forced to try to tap into her powers—which, by the way, weren't working—and on top of it all, there was the tension in the Forest that was stretched tight like a rubber band, any second ready to break and send them all into a terrible war.

"Shade?"

The Fallen girl glanced at her. "What now?"

Kitty looked at the ground. "Do you think I'll ever be able to master this?"

Shade looked at her evenly, her expression giving nothing away. Her eyes seemed to be weighing her options—as if she were wondering just how much to tell Kitty.

"Kurt believes you will," she said quietly. "And I believe _him_. Now, do you want this to have been a total waste of our time, or do you actually want to achieve something tonight?"

And so it went on.

* * *

Instead of waiting for Kurt, Kitty had decided to try and fly back to Treehaven—she hadn't yet tried her wings, and was curious to see if they actually worked—they certainly didn't look like they could hold her up, as they were still a bit raggedy-looking; but she took a deep breath and leaped into the air, wings pumping furiously to gain enough momentum.

Then with a single flap she was free from the downward pull of gravity, set free like a songbird from a wire cage. She drifted along the currents, reveling in the utter, simple joy of flight. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced—and even though she hadn't experienced much before, her knowledge was gradually increasing—she had even learned a little from her first day of training, with Shade; though the Fallen girl could hardly be counted as a great teacher, she at least didn't take _no_ for answer (although 'I don't know' was a frequent one).

Kitty soared over the treetops, the setting sun highlighting the autumn leaves in swirls of color—orange, yellow, some reds, and, of course, the pale greens still evident in the topmost leaves.

There was a slight bamf sound next to her, a small ring of smoke and flash of light and suddenly Kurt was beside her, flapping his wings as he found himself not on the ground, but in the air.

"You like flying?" he asked.

Kitty nodded; to try to express her feeling about flying for the first time seemed to be impossible.

"It's…" she tried to think of a word.

"Wonderful?" he supplied.

She smiled. "Yes. Wonderful. I understand why I wanted to be a Fallen as a kid."

"You did?" His look of surprise was astounding; she nodded. "I always wanted to fly. And the Fallen have always had wings, so…"

"Ah. Yah, it's very nice."

Of course he thought that—he'd been living with wings for his whole _life_. Attempting to change the subject, Kitty asked, "So don't you want to know how my first training session went?"

Kurt chuckled. "Was it hard?"

"I could barely answer any of the questions! Where does she come up with them? I mean, seriously, who taught her all of that stuff about lightning anyways?"

"The other lightning-bringer. Try not to be too hard on Shade—it took her ages for her element to show—we were all shocked when she had lightning as well as dark/light…having more than one element is a rarity among us, though not impossible." Kurt blinked in the bright light of the now-orange setting sun.

"What does that make me?" Kitty asked softly.

"You? We are not sure yet," Kurt answered truthfully. "There has never been one such as you before. A human with all the powers of the elements? And then becoming Fallen? _Definitely_ never happened before, as far as I know."

"Oh." Kitty looked down at the houses below them. "Where is my house anyway?" She had never seen Treehaven from above before; thus, she was utterly lost—not that she would have been able to go anywhere had she been on the 'ground' in Treehaven; the tangled Fallen dwellings were hard to navigate past and the networks of rope bridges were even harder to follow.

"Your house…is over here…" Kurt's eyes narrowed as he picked out the slightly green thatching of Kitty's designated house. "This way," he called, grabbing her hand and tugging her away from an air current. Kitty tumbled after him, still not quite adept at flying, though getting a little better so she didn't quite lurch around so much—as this was the first time she had ever attempted flying, mainly due to the fact that she had never had wings before, never mind the fact that her tattoo must have been like a beacon of weirdness to come.

A downwards pull on her hand caused her attention to snap back to reality: they had arrived at her allotted house. Kitty fluttered down next to Kurt, watching the last of the sun's rays disappear over the horizon as twilight began to gather over the serene Fallen village.

"Thanks for bringing me home," she said quietly, breaking the thin silence that had stretched between them.

"You're welcome," he murmured. "It was my pleasure."

Kitty looked at him silently. It was strange how he had become her closest friend so quickly. His glowing eyes flicked over to her. "What is it?"

"Nothing," she said quickly.

And before she realized she was doing it, she reached over and hugged him. He blinked, seeming startled.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking away.

"No, it's all right. But I should be going. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure." Kitty watched him fly away, thinking of how close she'd come… she shook her head, shaking the thoughts away. Never mind that. She had some sleep to catch up on.

And not even she noticed the crow perched in the tree, its beady eyes fixed on her, before it flew away, cawing.

* * *

So that's the end of the fourth chapter~ If I wasn't clear, I'll be trying to update this every Saturday - if I don't, it's because I went on vacation (not likely because of school) or was booted off by my parents (actually very likely, in fact) If it is a vacation, I will post an announcement. Thanks, guys~! Review, plz! And I will update this on this Saturday too, just so we're clear.

~Shadey


	5. The Gift

All righty, here's my next chappy~! You guys, remember to review! *Reviews are like chocalate-chip cookies~!* And I haz news! I will be adding a new charry! (Simply because my plot is evolving, and I kinda wanted to stick this charry in anyway - it's someone I've created, kay?) My new charry will be a Fallen named Sparks (originally intended for a Winx Club fanfic, don't ask me why, it just popped into my head one day - this is what happens when I get bored) and she's gonna be one of those oddball characters that show up randomly that appear to have no big part in the main plot, but she _does_ have a big part, only later on, when the evil part finally happens. :) Feel my awesomeness!

Disclaimer: We know it already!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

5. The Gift

Kitty yawned. Her mind was frazzled as she tried to remember what she was doing—somehow she'd managed to sleepwalk out of her house in the middle of the night and ended up tangled in the branches of her tree. At least she hadn't fallen_ through_ the branches and hit the dirt, which was, unfortunately, a good long drop away. "Oh, this is so not going to be my day…" she muttered, disentangling herself from the twigs. As if on cue, something dropped from the branches above her and, sadly, hit her on the head.

Kitty ran a hand through her hair, checking for bumps; and, finding none, picked up the object, an odd circular device. She peered at it, twisting it this way and that, poking it, but nothing came to mind at what it did. Shrugging, she decided to take it to practice—again with Shade, this time learning the dark/light element.

Kitty trudged into the sandy hollow, tired and confused. She set the round object on the nearby rock with a thunk. Shade noticed it and questioned, "What's that thing?"

"Don't know," answered Kitty truthfully. Shade's eyes flickered and she picked up the object, bouncing it in one hand, looking at the inscriptions on the side.

"Hmm…" She inspected one of the symbols; then tossed it back to Kitty, who caught it, barely.

"What is it?" Kitty questioned.

Shade shrugged. "I don't know. Only you can open it."

"Huh? _Me_?"

"You see the inscriptions on the side? There are seven—one for each element. It apparently divides dark and light into two different elements. Just use each element on the specific symbol. It'll open."

"There's something inside?" Kitty looked at it carefully.

"There should be, or that'd be an awful lot of trouble just to open an empty thing." Shade shrugged. "Just open it already."

Kitty tossed it up and down, closing her eyes as she tried to concentrate. She felt the now-almost-familiar tug of the elements, and carefully she directed them—all in a wave of jumbled-up power—to the designated place; then the sphere was popping open at her feet.

Kitty poked through it, picking out a small, tooth-like object covered in runes. The tooth was the only thing inside the object, apparently. "What's this?"

Shade walked over to her, holding out one hand for the tooth. Kitty gave it up without complaint—she was just as curious to find out what it did—and better Shade than her, because Kitty doubted she could make it do anything—if, that is, it did anything at all.

Shade's eyes narrowed as she looked at the tooth, her dark eyes fixating on the runes, as if she might be reading them. She looked over at Kitty—and froze, her eyes widening in shock.

Kitty stared at the Fallen girl, wondering what had happened. What did the tooth do? She started to move forwards, but Shade shook her head very slowly. Her voice was a whisper. _"Don't move."_

Kitty looked sideways at the trees, then back at Shade, whose grip on the tooth had loosened enough for it to fall to the sands. With the tooth out of her possession, Shade slumped to the ground, her eyes staring off into space. Kitty knelt beside her. "Shade? What happened?"

Shade stared at the ground. "That…_thing_…lets you see the elemental powers of someone else… You, Kitty…you shine like the sun…too bright to look at for long…"

"What? I'm like the sun?" Kitty picked up the tooth. The world seemed to go grayish, muted everything in shades of gray and black, and all she saw were the swirling elements of Shade, as well as herself—although it appeared to be nothing like looking into the sun. All Kitty saw was a faint silvery light surrounding herself. When she looked at Shade, she could see the conflicting elements of dark and light, as well as the lightning, but Shade's powers, although better exercised, were nothing compared to Kitty's vast untapped power.

She dropped the tooth hesitantly; instantly the trees reappeared and the gray darkness vanished. She sat down beside Shade, eyes wide. "What…how does that happen?"

Shade shook her head. "I don't know…but it's a useful talisman to have; no one else with it can look at you for long… You can't see the light?"

"Light? No…not a very bright light, anyways," Kitty looked down at her hands. "So…this light… I really look like the sun?"

"Possibly brighter…" Shade trailed off as Kurt appeared in front of them.

"What are you two doing? Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"Yeah, but I got this weird thing…" Kitty showed him the tooth. He looked at it; then picked it up slowly, inspecting it. Then he looked over at them, confusion on his face, freezing as soon as his eyes fixated on Kitty.

"No!" Kitty ran forward, ignoring Shade's warning, and wrestled the tooth away from him. He rubbed his eyes. "What _was_ that?"

Kitty muttered, "Something you don't want to pick up."

"Very funny, but is that all it does?"

"As far as we know," Kitty replied, tossing it up and down. "However, I'm the only one who can use it."

"Interesting…" Kurt murmured. "It is a valuable item to have in your possession; keep it—someone went through a lot of trouble to give you that, if what I can see of that sphere over there is anything to go by."

Kitty nodded. "Weird, huh?"

"Mmm-hmm."

* * *

Kitty was wandering along the path back to Treehaven—funny how even the trees were becoming familiar to her… She had elected not to fly, because she wasn't sure if Kurt would come around like the other day and flying by herself seemed a little lonely, all by herself soaring above the trees. And so, the safest route—by land…er, forest.

Something flitted among the trees at the corner of Kitty's eye. Kitty looked around quickly. "Anyone there?"

There was a slight rustling in the bushes, and a head poked out. It was a girl with red hair and colorless eyes. She looked at Kitty, simply staring.

"Er…hello?"

The girl stared at her; then crawled out of the bushes. Kitty gasped in surprise at the girl's appearance—but most of all her wings, which weren't feathered like the other Fallens', but more like a butterfly's, veined wings with tinges of color.

"Who are you?" Kitty asked; surely she was a Fallen, right? If not—well, what could she be?

The girl didn't answer, just cupped her hands and created a small flame. She held it out to Kitty. "Huh?" Kitty looked at it slowly. "What…is it?"

The girl's white-colored eyes blinked solemnly. "Dragonfire," she said quietly.

"It's…for me?" Kitty looked at the tiny flame the girl was offering. The girl nodded, holding it out to her. Slowly, Kitty reached out a hand, picking it up slowly, finding that it didn't burn her. "Wow…" she blinked and looked up, but the girl was gone.

* * *

Kurt appeared next to Kitty, who was sitting quietly on her front porch, watching the fire twist in her hand.

"What's that?" Kurt crouched down next to her.

"Someone gave it to me…a girl with red hair."

"Oh…so you've met Sparks already?" Kurt poked at the fire with one finger.

"Sparks?"

"Yah. She's a fire elemental, but her fire's different from most other's—it's a form of fire called 'dragonfire', an extremely powerful form of the element." Kurt looked over at her. "But why would she give some to you?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure gonna find out!"

* * *

So that's the end of meh fifth chapter! Review peeps, you know you want to! *points to innocent looking review-button* Go on!

~Shadey


	6. Disappearance

Hey guys, it's Halloween! ^^ Ah, the greatness of being able to scare people... *evil smile* But, anyways, here's the next chapter of _Fallen Angel_! There's more plot twists to be had! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha! *Yeah, I'm kinda evil-ish, heh heh, but I need to work on my dark evil laugh… -sigh-*

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

6. Disappearance

Kitty had been working on water, with Fira, in the sandy hollow for a few hours. She had learned that water wasn't the same as the other elements—water went at its own pace, and that made it utterly frustrating for Kitty to try to grasp the element's powers.

That morning… She'd left the dragonfire in her house—she didn't know what to do with it, and she doubted she'd be able to find Sparks again to figure out what the girl had wanted her to do with it.

As she swung down from the tree branch, something whizzed past her ear and she jumped back, landing on the ground with a thump.

Where her head had been, a pointed arrow-tip was buried into the bark. Hanging from it was a small shard of metal, an unusual design ingrained into the shiny side.

It was a four-pointed star with pale edges, looped over an arrow, and a grouping of many, very small circles around it. Kitty stared at it numbly—had she seen it before? Or was it something that the Fallen part of her recognized, but she, herself, had no idea what it meant?

She felt an engraving on the back as well, and flipped it over, reading the words there. Her blood seemed to freeze and she could barely hold onto the shard. It said:

_He will be the first._

_You will be next._

The trek to the sandy hollow that morning had seemed longer than usual—was it just her, or where eyes looking out at her from every tree, every shadow? Was she just paranoid? _And_ last night she had also had somewhat of a shock when she looked in her mirror—her face had changed slightly, the ears' tips becoming pointed, and she was certain there weren't any bruises or scars anywhere either.

The differences between her and the Fallen were disappearing rapidly—how long until not even she would recognize herself from a mirror's reflection?

She had gone to bed that night very confused, as the light from the dragonfire, sitting in a wooden bowl on the table, flickered eerily against the wooden beams.

* * *

Kitty's mind whirled back to the present as a jet of water doused her, soaking her just a bit more from where she'd previously been—still soaking wet.

"Fira, are you sure this'll actually work?" grumbled Kitty, blowing a bang out of her face.

Fira's gaze flicked to her. "It takes time," she said quietly. "But I believe in you. You'll figure out a way."

"I'm surprised you have so much faith in me," muttered Kitty, feeling a bit sarcastic—hey, overworking towards something you don't think will happen can do that to a girl.

Fira's water-blue eyes stared solemnly at her, and Kitty sighed.

"I know you guys have been real helpful to me and all, but I…I don't think I can live up to your expectations… I mean, seriously! I can't do anything right!" she tried to explain her feelings.

"Only because you believe you will not succeed," murmured Fira.

Kitty stayed silent, partly because it was the truth and partly because she just didn't want to admit it.

"Do you want to keep trying? Or is this enough for one day?"

"I don't know…" Kitty sighed. She knew she'd been disappointing her Fallen teachers, but the main problem was that she just couldn't reach the power—did she need some sort of motivation or something? She highly doubted any of them would be willing to throw her into a life-threatening position just to make sure her powers worked. No—there had to be another way, and she had to make the power come on command. And this, working with the teachers appointed to her—it was the next best way to try to get somewhere.

Fira nodded slowly. "Then I'll notify Kyana that we'll take tomorrow to learn more." She vanished into the trees, and Kitty was alone again.

Or so she thought…

A pair of eyes was staring out at her from a bush. Kitty remembered those white eyes as belonging to the girl named Sparks—the one who'd given her the dragonfire.

"Hello?" she called cautiously, wondering vaguely if she were only kidding herself.

Sparks appeared like a ghost from the bush. Her glazed pure-white eyes unnerved Kitty, and she avoided looking at them for any length of time.

"Er, hi…" Kitty mumbled, not sure what to say. The question came to mind almost instantly, though. "Oh, wait. What was I supposed to do with the fire you gave me?"

Sparks's face changed, and she looked almost…_sad_…like it was something Kitty should have figured out by now.

"Sorry… I really couldn't figure it out…" Kitty shrugged apologetically; then very nearly smacked herself for her stupidity—Sparks wouldn't be able to see what she was doing!

"You will discover it, in time," said Sparks quietly, sitting on a rock.

Kitty suddenly remembered the shard of metal from earlier. She pulled it out and asked, "Sparks?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know what this symbol is?" She passed it to the girl who ran her finger over the surface, tracing over the etching. Sparks's blind eyes widened.

"So you know it?" Kitty asked quietly, feeling her stupidity yet again.

Sparks's eyes narrowed and she jumped down from the rock, picking up a stick and drawing in the dirt. "It looks like this, yes?"

She had drawn the symbol from the metal with ease—Kitty didn't know how, as she couldn't see what she was drawing.

"Yeah. What is it?"

"It is the sign of the greatest evil in this forest." Sparks's voice was flat, and Kitty was quite sure that if anyone else had said that, no one else could have possibly achieved Sparks's level of being able to scare a person on words alone.

"Greatest…_evil_…?" Kitty stammered.

"Yes." Sparks gave her back the metal piece. "Don't let your friends out of your sight…or they might just disappear…"

The way she said that made Kitty believe she'd 'read' the words on the back too—and Kitty had the faintest inkling that she knew who the 'he' mentioned was…

* * *

Kitty trudged back to Treehaven, unwilling to take to the air, still a bit unsure of her flying abilities, but walking as fast as she possibly could.

All of a sudden Fira burst out of the forest, eyes wild. She crashed headlong into Kitty. The former human steadied the younger Fallen, keeping from falling herself.

"Kitty!" Fira looked up at her, wide eyes locking on her face.

"What? What is it?" Kitty's mind was already coming up with her answer, each worst then the last.

"It's Kurt!"

"What about Kurt?" Kitty asked, fearful already of the consequences…

"He's…He's _gone_!"

* * *

The plot thickens! What does it all mean? Mwah ha ha ha ha! *Yes, although I hate cliffhangers when I'm reading, I kind-of enjoy making them myself! Heh heh heh* Anyways, all, have a happy Halloween, and don't forget to review!

~Shadey


	7. The Tale of Fervior

All righty, since I got bored and have loads of uber-time now, I wrote out this entire next chapter and posted it, just to see what the reviewers say~. Mweh. This is one of those tell-the-evil-doer's-story-and-get-some-connections type of chapter, and I'm fairly sure the next one will be more interesting, I hope. The story evolves. What can I say? Enjoy, read, and you know you wanna review! ^_^

PRONUNCIATION: 'Fervior' is pronounced 'Fel-vohr.' The first 'r' has an 'l' sound. However, the _other _'r' is pronounced an 'r'.

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

7. The Tale of Fervior

Kitty sat on her deck, watching the sun rise. There was no training today—Fira had to bring messages from the other Fallen tribes—apparently there were more than just Treehaven, and the separate Fallen who lived in the Forest.

She sighed to herself—she missed Kurt. He'd disappeared in the Forest, in the early afternoon, when Kitty had been still training with Fira in the sandy hollow. At first, no one had suspected anything, until someone had found a symbol etched into a tree's trunk—the one identical to the one on Kitty's piece of metal. She had looked over it many times over, to try and see if there were any hidden clues on it, but there was still only the symbol and the terrible words:

_He will be the first._

_You will be next._

She just didn't understand! And everyone had been avoiding her too, like if she confronted them, they wouldn't tell her what she needed to know! She hadn't seen Shade yet, and Fira was off getting messages, Kurt was gone, and who even knew where Sparks was (and Kitty doubted she would be able to find the girl)

She jabbed at the metal scrap, her anger at being left out finally surfacing. Why would no one tell her _anything_? Why was she stuck here, when she could be doing something productive (if, of course, she knew what she was up against!)

Kitty grabbed her metal scrap and swung down from her porch, landing lightly on the ground. She walked to the sandy hollow anyways; maybe someone would be waiting for her.

But her hopes were too high, or perhaps she had simply wanted to believe them. There was nothing in the training arena, and she sat on the rock and poked at the metal shard…again.

* * *

Shade appeared when the sun was directly overhead—Kitty was still sitting there glumly.

"Geez, what's eating you?" muttered Shade, plopping down next to Kitty with a yawn.

"No one's telling me anything!" grumbled Kitty, frowning.

Shade raised her eyebrows in a questioning way and looked over at the metal in Kitty's hand. "What's that you've got there?"

"What, this?" Kitty gave it to her, watching as she looked at the symbol, her expression unreadable save for the anger flickering in her eyes; then she flipped it over and read the nine words on the back, eyes widening. "Do you know what this means?"

"No. No one's told me anything! I have no idea what's going on!" growled Kitty, punching the rock angrily, then wincing and rubbing her hand. Then she remembered what Sparks had told her—it was vague, but it was something. 'The symbol is the sign of the greatest evil in the forest' or something like that.

"Hmmm… There's a story for that, you know," Shade said, tapping the metal. "Although I'm not entirely sure you're supposed to know…"

"Tell me anyway! I'm sick of not knowing!" Kitty said, eagerly waiting.

"Fine… Just, if anyone asks, I didn't tell you this, all right? You heard it from someone else," Shade relented, leaning back.

"Okay." _Anything to know what's really going on, _Kitty thought.

Shade nodded. "The story begins with a Fallen called Fervior. This was many years ago, and I learned this story from my mother. Fervior had a strange gift—he could use metal and bend it to his will. Most gifts had…adaptations, I suppose is the word, or variants, but no Fallen has ever had a gift quite like his. His gift could work on any form of metal—including iron in blood." Shade paused, as if waiting for effect. "He soon discovered that he could use the iron in blood to manipulate people—human or Fallen—to do his bidding. Some say it made him mad. Others say he was insane to begin with. Either way, he was thrown out of the village because he was caught experimenting on live subjects."

Kitty was imagining this, quite gruesomely, and she shuddered involuntarily at the images her imagination provided. She realized now that it was not the best thing to let her imagination run away with the ideas, each different and more scary than the last.

Shade continued, and Kitty's attention snapped back to her. "But that was not the last we saw of Fervior. Deep within the swamps of Mantikor, to the southwest, he fled, preparing for his revenge. The swamps, though abounding with living creatures, failed to bring him the necessary equivalents that a human's body could. So, he began luring humans from the settlement known today as Firkin, but then it was called Herzac. One or two humans disappearing into the swamps with their strange mists weren't anything new to the humans, and so they did nothing. And Fervior's plotting, however much we may try to deny it eventually came full circle. He wanted revenge."

Kitty was staring with rapt attention; this story was more interesting then she'd thought, but what did it have to do with Kurt and the fact that he was missing?

"Kitty, are you listening?" asked Shade, annoyed.

"Oh, yes, continue!" Kitty waved her hands in a 'go on' gesture.

"Anyways, _as I was saying_, Fervior wanted revenge. Slowly but steadily, he gathered an army of swamp monsters and rouge Fallen—mercenaries, if you will. He launched his attack at dawn, easily overpowering the village's defenses and slaying as many Fallen as he could. And in the end, only one thing stood in his way."

"What was that?"

"A priestess with the power of all the elements—like you, Kitty, although she was born Fallen and not changed as you were—and her name was, aptly, Karma. Karma defeated Fervior easily with her power, saving Treehaven and the Forest. She did not kill Fervior, though, instead saying he should be punished justly for his crimes. But on the night of his sentence, he escaped from his cell—before you ask, we don't know how—and disappeared into the Forest, where we hoped never to see or hear from him again. Some even dared to believe he had died out there." Shade sighed. "However, fate doesn't seem to be all that kind to us. For there are rumors that Fervior will return. And we must be ready."

Kitty's throat was dry. "Do you think…he'll come after me?"

"Highly likely. In fact, plan for it. You hold the same powers as Karma did, and he will seek revenge on one like her first. But Kurt's disappearance seems to add up to a different plot…"

"What do you mean?"

"I think that he plans on trading you for Kurt. However, I'm pretty sure there's something else, another crucial part to his plan that he needs answered." Shade looked at the piece of metal, tapping it absently.

"Huh? Isn't there only me?" Kitty was confused.

"Yes, you _are_ the only all-elements wielder since Karma's death, but there is another great source of power within Treehaven. Not as great as yours, but still powerful in its own rights. I'm afraid that Fervior will try to maneuver that into the plot as well."

"Another…great power?" Kitty's voice trailed off.

Shade explained. "You have some of it, actually. You've met the person who wields it."

"Huh?" Kitty's mind had gone blank after the story.

"It's the _dragonfire_!"

* * *

Hmmm, the plot twists are added too~ Just to clarify things, Fervior's gift is kinda like Magneto's, but I wasn't entirely sure that Magneto could manipulate humans' minds through the iron in their blood, so if that's plagiarism (spelling correct? I choose not to use the spell check due to the annoyance of all my weirdly spelled names) I didn't know it, and it makes for a better story, just so you know. I may or may not update again on Saturday, depending on if I can finish the next chapter in time. I have the rough outline complete, but the story evolves, so I'm not sure yet. We have a day off on Friday, yay! You guys should be happy I'll get more time to work on this story, you know you love it~! ^_^

~Shadey


	8. Into the ForestThe Heart of Dragonfire

Yes, I know, I'm a day late, but I had to do yard work on Saturday and I still had to get the finishing touches for this chapter done. I noticed we had some questions in the reviews: As to whether I based Fervior on Magneto or not: actually, I didn't remember that Magneto could use metal also until the end of the chapter was done, so, I just went with the flow, and I'm still not that sure if Magneto can manipulate people's minds. And the second question was about that crow back in chapter 4. No, it wasn't Mystique - she really doesn't have much of a part in the plot anymore; the crow was one of Fervior's messengers. Don't ask me why I put it in there, it just happened. Anyways, here is the next chapter, it turned out a bit longer then expected, but read and review anyways~!

(Also, most of you will probably notice that on the list of chapters, I couldn't put the whole chapter name, so I shortened it a bit. Hope you don't mind, if any of you pay attention to that kind of thing at all.)

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

8. Into the Forest/The Heart of the Dragonfire

Kitty was wandering the paths of Treehaven. Her mind was still going over the story Shade had told her. Why was she such an important player in this future-to-come?

She sighed, finding herself looking up into the branches of the tree where her house was situated. With barely any effort, she soared up to the porch, landing lightly on a bench.

It had been two days since Kurt had been taken—and she was being driven out of her mind by her anxiousness. What if Fervior (if that was who had taken him) had already killed him?

She shook her head vigorously; she wouldn't think like that—she had a terrible suspicion that if she said anything bad aloud—or even _thought_ it, it would happen.

She peered in through her window, watching the light from the dragonfire flicker dimly inside the shadowy house. She walked in and picked it up, watching the flames dance in her palm, the golden light from within it seeming to blaze a little brighter.

She watched it for a while, silently thinking. And by the time noon came, she had a plan.

* * *

Kitty sat quietly by the edge of the sandy hollow, trying to concentrate, and despite with all the elements' powers, she had had no luck in finding Kurt. Sighing at her utter incompetence, like Shade liked to do often, Kitty sat down on the rock, grumbling. Why was the power so hard to reach? She'd released it quite easily in the Forest… But it would be later, that she would receive the motivation needed…

* * *

Kitty yawned and opened her eyes. Where was she again? Oh, right, she'd fallen asleep in the training hollow. She picked herself up and headed towards the village, flying slowly, to try and find any trace of Kurt, but the Fallen were better at her then tracking, and they had found nothing except the symbol—and a strange smell in the air.

She had only seen Shade that morning, when she was telling Kitty that her training had been discontinued for the moment. Fira still hadn't come back from her messaging duty, Kurt was missing—no one had found his body yet, at least. And that left Sparks… Sparks, whose strange ways continued to confuse Kitty at every corner, her dragon's fire still unusable—but Kitty didn't even know where Sparks was! Both times she had seen her the girl had been at the sandy hollow. Kitty had just been there, and she was fairly sure that there had been no other person besides herself, but Sparks's ability to appear out of thin air and scare the crap out of you was unequaled, as far as Kitty knew.

Kitty sighed; sometimes people were right—too much thinking was bad for you. She soared over Treehaven, lighting down on a branch overlooking the somewhat-small village of the Fallen—Kitty had never really realized it before, but Treehaven wasn't as big as she thought it had been. She heard a slight sound and Sparks appeared next to her, Kitty almost falling off the branch in shock. As it was, she slipped and caught herself on the trunk. "Did anyone tell you that you're really, _really_ quiet?" she gasped, looking over at Sparks, on whom the irony was not lost.

"No. I have come for a different reason."

"A…different reason?" Kitty was really starting to not like Sparks's riddles—she could never make any sense out of them.

Sparks's pure-white eyes flickered in the sunlight. "You should probably get well away from here…"

"Why?" Kitty was also starting to dread Sparks's news tidbits, as they always seemed to have doom and death involved in them—after all, Sparks had been the first to tell her of Fervior, even if it was only one sentence, and not that much information to begin with, but, in Kitty's mind, it still counted.

Sparks turned her eyes to the peaceful village below. "Do you really want to know?"

"Maybe…" It sounded like it would be her death sentence.

"You are sure?"

"Er…yeah."

Sparks's eyes seemed to become more luminous. "There will be an attack on Treehaven soon."

"Huh? When?" Kitty started to take off, but Sparks pulled her back.

"You cannot warn them. It has already begun." Sparks pointed towards smoke along the edge of the tree line, though how she knew where to point, Kitty didn't know.

Then she looked closer, seeing tangled vines erupt from the ground, tearing through the grass, leaving deep crevices behind.

Kitty looked around nervously—she didn't know how to defend herself; and she had just spotted a vine on her branch. She let out a shriek and jumped off the branch, Sparks following her while trying to hit the vine with fireballs—Kitty was beginning to see that she couldn't aim in the air—it was only a lucky hit that brought down the vine.

However, Sparks couldn't navigate well in the air either, apparently—especially around huge trees. When she turned around, she smacked right into one!

Kitty turned around, flapping hastily and hitting the ground—she really needed to work on landing!

She ran over to Sparks, who was crouched at the base of the tree, eyes closed, listening. "They're coming this way…"

"Huh?" Kitty was starting to have a panic attack; she searched the trees with her eyes, but there was nothing there…until the vines erupted from the ground!

Kitty stared wide-eyed as the vines, along with some suspicious-looking large flowers, surrounded their tree.

Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to find an escape route, but the coiling vines were as thick as any wall.

Sparks moved up onto a big tree branch. When Kitty turned to look over at her, Sparks said quietly, "Close your eyes, Kitty."

Kitty closed her eyes, but then opened them into slits, watching as Sparks lifted one hand, a shining light appearing in front of her. The light blazed brighter, spreading outwards from Sparks and over the clearing.

Kitty blinked slowly to clear the spots from her vision. The vines were gone. No trace was left behind. But where was Sparks?

She discovered Sparks by the tree root she'd been standing on. "What…was that?" Kitty asked, helping her up.

"It is known as the heart of the dragonfire," said Sparks quietly. "It has high destructive capabilities, but it can only be used a couple of times, and by the right person." She grimaced slightly. "Anyway, we should move away from this place. No doubt there are other creatures coming to look around here."

The two wandered through the Forest, at last stopping when it was dark in the trees. They sat under the roots of a large tree.

"Sparks?" Kitty asked. She thought she heard Sparks sigh, as if Kitty's questioning was inevitable.

"What?"

"Why don't you look like the other Fallen?" It was a question Kitty had been meaning to ask, but had never found the time.

Sparks tapped one butterfly-like wing, as if to testament to Kitty's question. "It is because I am not all Fallen. My mother was a fairy. They live to the north, near a lake within a valley in the mountains, but that's beside the point. Her looks passed on to me." Sparks's white eyes swiveled towards Kitty. "What did you do with the dragonfire I gave you?"

"Um… I thought I had it… Did I drop it?" Kitty searched through her stuff, but couldn't find the tiny fire. "Er… I can't find it."

Sparks blinked slowly. "You have absorbed it, then."

"Absorbed…it?" Kitty didn't like the sound of that.

"Never mind. We will talk in the morning." Sparks closed her eyes.

Sometime later, Kitty was still trying to get to sleep, and yet all she could think about was:

_Sparks and I are out in the Forest alone, and we're the biggest players in Fervior's game of chess… _

* * *

So that's my newest chapter~! Hooray, everybody, I've made it to eight chapters! ^^ And thank you reviewers and invisible readers that I don't know, for reading my story and liking it! Your questions and comments allow me to develop my plot more, despite the fact that it's still evolving. Thanks, all!

~Shadey


	9. Infiltration and Discovery

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating in like four weeks! My high school homework is overloading and I don't always have time to get on, with all my algebra homework . I really tried to come up with ideas, but I had writer's block for the beginning of the chapter (had the end all planned out though) and I have a pretty good idea of the next chapter, so I swear on whatever any of you find holy that I will update again soon! My reviews, I noticed, hadn't been added to, but I suppose that's what I get. Anyway, enjoy this chapter and know more is coming soon!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

9. Infiltration and Discovery

Sparks and Kitty were crouched beside a large fern bush. Sparks had led Kitty to the swamplands beyond the Forest, where, she said, Fervior was said to have fled to after being defeated by Karma.

"This is it?" Kitty whispered, disappointed. She was staring across at a clearing covered in swamp life, but no sign of anything that would indicate Fervior's or Kurt's existence.

"Look harder," advised Sparks.

"There's nothing—" Kitty cut herself off, staring at the thin, barely visible metal plate in the ground. "That's all? Just some metallic thing in the ground?"

"Use your imagination," Sparks muttered, her white eyes staring out at nothing.

"My imagination? Huh?" Kitty repeated, confused.

Sparks sighed, putting her head on her hands. "What do you think is under that metal thing?"

"Um…a tunnel?"

"Possibly, although it's more than likely. Where does that tunnel lead to?"

"Underground?" Kitty guessed.

"And how do you think Fervior escaped being detected by the Fallen?"

"_Underground_…" Kitty muttered, the pieces finally falling into place. "I see. So we have to go in there?"

"Evidently. Do you see some sort of mechanism that blocks the plate?" Sparks fidgeted in place.

"Uh…no, not really."

Sparks sighed. "Then it's the invisible kind. Joy."

"So how do we get in?" Kitty was beginning to think everything was hopeless.

"I suspect the point over the metal plate will be the weakest; it's at the center of the clearing, I'll bet—and the invisible traps are no doubt somewhere along the sides of the clearing."

Kitty said softly, "You're kinda good at this, huh?"

"Experience," muttered Sparks quietly.

She lifted off, hovering above the ground. "Which direction?"

Kitty blinked—she'd forgotten about Sparks's blindness for a while as she didn't seem quite so blind all the time—and fluttered into the air. "We're near it, but what if there are some traps in the air?"

"Technically, that's not supposed to be possible," Sparks pointed out. "Anyways, I'm pretty sure there won't be any. Fervior's probably grown arrogant in these later years."

"That's what you're counting on?" Somehow Kitty couldn't believe that her friend—did she already consider Sparks a friend?—was depending on the fact that the crazy evil psycho out-to-destroy-the-world guy was arrogant?

"Yes."

Kitty sighed. "Fine… But if we get skewered by something or get crushed by unknown falling objects or something worse, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so.' "

Sparks shrugged—that didn't really matter to her. She hovered above the metallic plate, holding a stick. Gingerly, she dropped it, bolting upwards. Kitty drew back as well, but nothing came flying out of the bushes to attack the stick.

"It's safe," whispered Sparks, twisting the metal plate and shoving it to the side, exposing a dark, dank tunnel leading into the depths of the earth.

"Oh boy. We have to go _in_ there?" Kitty stared into the abysmal darkness.

"Yup." Sparks disappeared down into the hole.

Kitty groaned, muttering, "How on earth did I get myself into this?" before lowering herself into the hole and grabbing the metal plate, pulling it back over the tunnel. The metal clanged loudly, with a sense of finality as darkness descended upon them.

* * *

Kitty blinked slowly as her eyes adjusted to the dim gloom of the dank tunnel. "Is this all there is?" she asked, disappointed with the lack of evil-crazy-guy junk.

Sparks gave her a _look_, muttering, "Quiet! The tunnel just hasn't gotten to the main hallway, undoubtedly somewhere below us."

"Sorry…"

They continued climbing down into the darkness, until Sparks reached an iron grate, covering the mouth of the tunnel. Kitty looked through the twisted metal, seeing a hallway below, lit by an odd greenish light. Both she and Sparks tugged at the grate, and slowly, its hinges creaking, they managed to move it to the side.

Kitty dropped to the ground, immediately looking for figures lurking in the shadows. But the hallway was deserted, and she whispered up to Sparks, "It's clear!"

Sparks jumped to the ground beside her. "I would assume that the main room is at the center, but I'm not sure where this hallway connects to, so we may be stuck here a while."

"Doesn't matter. Come on."

Sparks shook her head exasperatingly and followed as Kitty wandered on, peeking into other hallways and rooms, with the same result—all were empty, with no signs of having been used at all, and a layer of dust had accumulated over the floors and walls.

"Is Fervior even here?" Kitty finally asked.

Sparks shrugged. "There is always the possibility that he's not, but he may have left something—anything—of value behind. It's hard to tell. There aren't any guards or anything like that—maybe he feels confident in his power?"

"He's certainly surrounded himself in metal," Kitty commented.

Sparks's eyes narrowed. "So he has."

"What does that mean?"

"Be prepared for the probability of walking right into a trap."

"What?"

But before Kitty could say anything else, or Sparks in reply, they saw the huge iron door that had appeared in front of them. Without any confrontation, they had been wandering aimlessly among the metal hallways and Kitty wasn't sure where they were anymore—she had gotten sidetracked by the amount of hallways they had already followed to dead ends.

What lay beyond the door?

Kitty was about to push it open, but one of Sparks's wings stretched out and barred her path. "It's a trap!" Sparks hissed under her breath.

"How do you know?" Kitty asked accusingly.

"Huge door, right? Never a good idea. It's clearly a trap! He wants you to just walk in!"

"But there's got to be another way in…" Kitty mused, her eyes flicking upwards to the huge air ducts above their heads. The ducts went through the walls, and, Kitty imagined, into the room beyond.

"What about the air ducts?"

"The air ducts?" Sparks repeated, looking doubtful. "How big are they?"

"Big enough," Kitty replied, flying up to the metal covering affixed to the duct's mouth and pulled it off, before crawling inside.

Sparks stood there a moment. "Why do I get the feeling that this is not going to end in our favor?" She shrugged to herself and flew up to the duct opening, and flying into the shadows inside.

Kitty was crawling just ahead of Sparks and let out a silent yell when she discovered another opening, this one on the other side of the wall. "I found it!" she whispered, tugging on one side. It creaked loudly and she froze, but, hearing no movement beyond the duct, she pulled it the rest of the way off, exposing rubble-strewn ground, and the barest edge of the big door. She slid through the small opening and landed lightly on the ground, Sparks right after her.

"See anything?"

"No," Kitty replied, narrowing her eyes and walking forwards, too late noticing the ground beneath her feet was gone, and she tumbled into a large earthen pit dug into the ground. Because she'd made no warning, Sparks tumbled right after her.

Kitty looked up and saw an electrical net blaze to life. "What the…?"

"It appears this is the way to let people it, and keep them in," observed Sparks, listening to the steady thrum of the machine.

"Mm-hmm…" Kitty looked around, spying a pair of glowing eyes staring out at her from a corner. She jumped back, startled, hissing to Sparks, "There's someone else in here!"

"Why wouldn't there be?" Sparks tapped one wall of the pit. "If there wasn't, then there would've been a ton of pointless digging to make this thing. And look up at that electric net. My guess is that that person over there isn't meant to be escaping."

Kitty looked over at the pair of eyes. Slowly the person stepped out into the thin light from aboveground; the pale light shone on the dark blue hair, matted and tangled, the draconic tail swaying behind, the mass of dark blue feathers that were his wings.

Kitty stepped backwards slowly, her brain trying to assure her that what she was seeing was true.

The other person in the pit was Kurt.

* * *

Yes, we finally found Kurt! *happy claps* So now we have him back in the story~! What will happen next? Mwahahahahahaha!

~a-very-sorry-for-not-updating-sooner Shadey


	10. Escape from the Pit

Hi. It's me. I know, many of you have probably envisioned my death in several interesting yet torturing ways, as I have not updated, mainly due to finals and a Christmas vacation and I couldn't take my laptop with me, but that's still no excuse. There's still a couple chapters to go in this story, although it may evolve more, because while I may have had a bit of writer's block for this chapter, I've got some ideas for the others. Now, I will not be surprised if any of you flame me. In fact, you probably should. I may not be the worst updater in the history of worst updaters, but I should've tried harder to not let you guys down. So, I'm curious, do you guys still want me to continue this story, even though my updates will probably be off? Thanks, reply in a review, if I get at least three reviews that want me to continue, I will. So here's the next chapter of Fallen Angel!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

10. Escape from the Pit, and the Realization of a Trap

Kitty stared at Kurt. "Kurt…?" He wasn't just a hallucination, right?

He turned to look at her. "Kitty? You are really here?"

"Yes," Kitty said, wondering what he meant by 'really' here.

"You should not have come…either of you…don't you see?" cried Kurt in dismay.

"What do you mean?" asked Kitty.

"He means, it's a trap," said Sparks, stepping from the gloom of the pit's edges.

"A trap?" Kitty wracked her brains. "How could this be a trap?"

Sparks rolled her eyes—a very creepy thing to watch, in Kitty's opinion—and muttered, "Don't you get it? He's the bait—" she pointed at Kurt "—and we're the most powerful Fallen at Treehaven. I think Fervior has maneuvered us quite well to get us here without us realizing it. He's cornered us, and now he can just pick us off one by one!"

Kitty's heart seemed to stop at her words. "Is there any way to escape?" she questioned Kurt.

"I've tried, but so far, no good," he replied, sitting on the floor.

"Sparks, do you think we can escape before Fervior notices we're here?" Kitty turned to the blind Fallen.

The part-fairy laughed a harsh laugh. "If we get out of here—which isn't possible unless we do something _really_ noticeable—he'll be bound to notice us, if he hasn't already."

"Well, we might want to escape quickly then!" Kitty leaned against the wall, thinking, until a spider landed in her lap. "Spider!" she shrieked and ran to hide behind Kurt, who laughed softly.

"They won't hurt you, you know."

"They're creepy and crawly and they spin webs and—ugh!" Kitty shuddered.

Sparks rolled her eyes again and was 'looking' up at the electrical net.

Kitty looked up too, forgetting for the moment that a spider was spinning a web over her head in the light of an idea. The way the light was shooting across the top of the pit…that meant that there were mechanisms either in the wall or above the pit, sending out the electric beams to the other side.

"Kurt?" she asked.

"Yah?"

"Do you think if we send enough power into the mechanisms that control the electric net, they'll explode due to the overload in electrical current?" She thought it seemed like a pretty good plan…except for one thing.

"Where would we get the energy required?" Sparks pondered.

"I don't know…" responded Kitty, thinking. "Wait! I have an idea!"

"What is it this time…?" asked Sparks, grumbling and getting up to lean against the wall.

"Do you think my elemental energy would be enough to overpower the net?"

"Maybe, if you had enough of it…" surmised Kurt. "But you can't summon your power…can you?"

"Not on command yet, but I know a way to get it to work…I think…" Kitty said, smacking her fist against her palm. "Sparks!"

"What…?"

"The dragonfire you gave me…will it be attracted to the heart of the dragonfire?" Kitty was waiting for them to see her plan.

"Yeah, but… Hmm…" Sparks thought. "Since you absorbed it…you believe it will draw out the rest of your power?"

"Yes!" Kitty grinned.

"This crazy plan of yours…just might work…" Kurt glanced up at the electrical net.

"I know, right?" Kitty smiled. "All right, Kurt, since I don't know if this will exactly work the way I planned it, I want you to be ready to put up a barrier."

"Will do."

"Sparks, can you summon the heart for me?" Kitty looked at the Fallen girl. Slowly the redhead nodded, putting her hands together, the tiny, pure light appearing.

Kitty directed her to put her hands in front if Kitty's, and waited, feeling the tug of power as the dragonfire within her became drawn to the heart held in Sparks's hands.

She felt the white light seeping slowly from her fingertips to form a small sphere. "Come on…" she grunted. "Hurry up…!"

She crouched there for who knows how long, her legs going numb, watching the orb of power grow as the light from the heart of the dragonfire dimmed. When she had a sphere about the size of someone's head, Kitty called, "Do you think this is big enough?"

"Yeah!" called back Kurt. Kitty stepped back from Sparks, telling her, "You can put the heart away now, I think I'm good!"

She aimed at the ceiling of the pit, the electric net still plainly visible despite the bright light from her ball of power.

Kitty released it, watching in fascination as it spiraled upwards, slamming into the net with a buzzing noise. Small explosions of smoke appeared at the edges of the pit, the electric net was fading; then it was gone. Kitty leaped into the air, flying out through the hole, Sparks and Kurt following.

Kitty remembered the room—the same greenish light as the hallways, the big iron door, the rubble strewn about the corners of the room, and Kitty could see the edge of a twisted metal structure.

She, Kurt and Sparks stood at the edge of a crevice, one that she hadn't noticed before, yawning across the ground into an abyss, stretching from either side of them.

"See anything? Like anything that looks like trouble?" asked Kitty to Kurt—it would be rather pointless to ask Sparks and she was fairly certain the other Fallen would probably stare at her for a looong time and most assuredly creep her out big-time.

"No. Nothing. It is…strange…" he replied, peering through the gloom.

"I don't see anything either… Sparks, can you hear anything unusual?"

Kitty waited impatiently while Sparks tilted her head, listening. "Nothing…" she said.

"Crap. Well, what do we do now?" asked Kitty. "I mean, don't you think Fervior would've noticed us, if he was here?"

"Maybe he's biding his time?" suggested Kurt, looking a mite confused. "Maybe he hasn't found the right moment to take us out?"

"When we were all gathered in the pit like that, don't you think that would be the easiest time to kill us, picking us off one by one?" Sparks retorted.

"True… Shouldn't we be trying to get out of here?" Kitty mumbled.

"Do you remember the way?"

"No…"

"Then we have to try for it from here. Are there any vents above us?" asked Sparks

"None, except the one that leads to the other side of the door, I'd presume," said Kurt. "There aren't any over there either…"

"Looks like we're stuck," commented Kitty.

"Hold on…" Sparks put her hands up. "Something's coming…"

Kitty whirled, expecting to see an animal of some sort leaping at her, snarling, but there was nothing. No sound, no movement. Except for… She bent and put a hand to the ground. It was vibrating, thrumming, like something under the ground was coming their way.

"Wha—!" Kitty never got to finish her sentence, as the ground beneath their feet heaved, throwing them out into the air over the abyss, and before even one could spread their wings, they were falling into the immense black darkness.

Kitty tumbled against the side of the rocky cliff, trying to cling to some sort of handhold, but the walls were smooth and offered no support. Then she attempted spreading her wings—but with a terrible realization, she felt the muscles in her back constrict and her wings trailed limply behind her with no way to stop her fall.

And, just as she could not fly, she knew that Kurt and Sparks too, would not be able to use their wings.

She could just barely see beneath them the shine of something moving at the bottom—a river! She curled into a ball, managing to fold in her wings slightly, hitting the water hard, and watching as her last glimpse of light spiraled away into the darkness of the roaring, icy water…

* * *

So, that is the next chapter. Remember, I welcome reviews - if there are any of you left - and please tell me if you want me to continue the story - and not just because I left it at a cliffhanger, okay, people? Yes, go ahead and rant about my non-updating-ness if you want, I really don't care - I deserve it. I will be typing up the rest of the story on my computer for myself to read if you all tell me not to continue this. Thanks!

~ Shadey


	11. The Valley of Mists

Hello, all. I know I promised to update quicker, and then I slack off for a very long time. At least three months, to be slightly exact. I'm sure you're all ready to either have my head on a stick or kill me in some terrible way. I have three reasons I haven't updated: 1) High school - I recently had a lot of projects due (four subjects! In the same week!) and I can't be expected to devote all my time to this story, however nice that may seem. 2) Writer's block. After the last chapter, I lacked inspiration and really didn't know where to go from there. But after listening to random songs, I got an idea and now I'm back to get this story back on track. I really would like to finish this story, too. And my last reason, reason number 3) Real life in general has been bugging me, and I'm a slight addict to online RPGs. But I'll try to balance my time. Anyway, read this new chapter, and I've already started typing the next one, so I might be able to get it up tomorrow!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

11. The Valley of Mists

Kitty plunged into the icy cold water, sinking a bit, water filling her mouth, before the current picked up the pace and she was thrown to the surface. She spat out the water, taking in deep gulps of air to remind herself that she wasn't going to drown, trying in vain to see if anyone was near her, but the darkness appeared absolute, and she couldn't even see the river's shadows dancing on the walls; she splashed about, spluttering as the fast-moving water threatened to drag her down again.

"Kurt! Sparks!" she yelled, trying to find her friends. _"Kurt! Sparks! Are you there?"_

Her ears picked up the sounds of splashing nearby, and even in the darkness of the river, with constant waves crashing into her and water going everywhere, Kitty could still make out the glowing eyes of Kurt.

"Kurt!" Seeing him, she half-swam, half-floundered over to him, latching onto him like he was the last thing on earth and she wasn't ready to die yet. He looked surprised to see her, exclaiming, "Kitty! You're okay!"

She was saved from answering by a wave coming up and dousing them both, leaving the two Fallen speechless for a moment.

Kitty then remembered Sparks; after a rather turbulent ride down a small waterfall and shooting off into the darkened cavern through which the underground river raced, she questioned, above the roar of the water and through chattering teeth, "H-have y-y-you s-seen Sp-Sparks?"

The blue-furred Fallen shook his head sorrowfully; Kitty nodded slowly, hoping that wherever she was that the part-fairy Fallen was all right.

Kitty's eyes perceived a change in the light; the river was becoming more violent again, and she could see a circle of light that was rapidly filling her vision. The roar of the cold waters was growing yet again in volume; Kitty knew what to expect now. Another waterfall was coming, and the girl knew it was going to be a big one. With their feathers soaked, neither she nor Kurt would be able to take off from the top of the waterfall.

The roar seemed to cease for a moment—Kitty and Kurt were suspended at the top of the waterfall, staring down into a misty, forest-filled valley. The sun was beginning to rise over the edge of the mountains. It made for a rather pretty view, but then gravity kicked in, and down the two Fallen plummeted, into the waiting pool below.

Kitty hit the waiting, tranquil waters with a large splash; she could see the sun's brightness reflected through the clear water. She pushed to the surface; already feeling dead tired from the icy underground river, and the pool at the bottom of the waterfall was surprisingly warm… She let her eyes fall closed…

* * *

Only to be woken up some seconds later, Kurt's worried face flickering in her vision. His mouth was moving, and as she watched him, words trickled into her ears.

"…Kitty! Are you all right?"

She mumbled something unintelligible, taking the offered hand and climbing to her feet. "Where…are we…?" Kitty murmured, her eyes flicking around tiredly to look at the tropical forest.

"I'm not sure, but…" Kurt's reply made her begin to get suspicious.

"But…?" she prompted.

Kurt's golden eyes darted to the lush scenery around them. "This place is ancient," he whispered, and at the back of her mind Kitty vaguely wondered how he knew. His next words, however, made her re-think her last thought.

"This place…I know I've never been here before, but…it seems…sort of familiar…"

"Kurt, do you know where we are?" Kitty looked around slowly at the serene beach they had landed on. She spotted a nearby boulder and climbed to the top, looking around, trying to figure out where she and Kurt had landed.

She could see the mist falling over the forest; she could look back and see the waterfall churning over the cliffs; she could see the river winding its way through the trees; and she could see another sheltered cove, where she could see—

"Kurt!" she yelled, and in an instant the Fallen was sitting next to her, having teleported up. "What is it? What do you see?" he asked wildly, his logic reasoning that Kitty had seen something dangerous, a potential enemy, or even the one that they had been avoiding for so long—Fervior.

"Look!" She pointed out what she had seen, watched his eyes grow wide, as he saw what she had seen.

Sparks.

Kurt grabbed her hand, and the forest disappeared in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Kitty and Kurt hit the white sand as quietly as possible, with barely a ruffle of a few grains of sand. Sparks was sitting on a small rock near the shoreline, her white eyes fixed on nothing, her head turned towards the water.

Kitty moved forwards, and the fairy girl swiveled her head towards the beach. "Kitty. Kurt. I was wondering when you'd come."

"Sparks!" Kitty hugged her friend, happy that she'd made it out alive.

"Enough already," the redhead grumbled, and Kitty released her.

Kitty asked, "Do you know where we are?" remembering that Kurt had thought the place looked familiar, but he had told her he had never been here before, nor seen it either; and maybe Sparks knew, or had been here before…?

"This is the Valley of Mists," Sparks explained, her voice quiet. "I have not been here in a very long time, but the sounds are enough to go on. The Valley of Mists is an ancient place, said to be the birthplace of the Fallen, and longtime home of the oldest fairies."

"The Valley of Mists…" repeated Kitty; it certainly suited the strange ethereal place the threesome had washed up in.

She walked over to the edge of the forest, peering through the foggy tree trunks, watching in rapt fascination as butterflies of all colors danced through the trees, brilliant colors flashing in the dim light.

Slowly, without really realizing it, she stepped through the boundary of the trees, boots sloshing through the small layer of mud and water that made up the forest floor; vaguely hearing Sparks and Kurt's voices following her; but her eyes were focused on the pretty, shining creatures that wove in and out of the trees… A hand grabbed at her shoulder and she turned slightly, looking into the shocked golden eyes of Kurt. His voice reached her ears, dimly.

"Kitty! Snap out of it!"

Kitty shook her head slowly; the colorful butterflies were calling to her, waiting for her… Kitty couldn't hear Kurt or Sparks anymore, their voices had faded to background noise, a blurry static that she paid no heed to; she took a couple steps forwards, the flaring colors of the bugs spinning across her eyes, her thoughts…

She faintly heard her own voice, but it seemed so far off, so unreal compared to the butterflies lighting up the forest in swarms of color—brilliant reds, radiant oranges, bright yellows, vibrant greens, shimmering blues, and flashing violets.

"_Pretty…pretty colors…"_

_Is that my own voice echoing in my ears? _she wondered idly.

Random, fuzzy words reached her ears:

"…_said something…"_

"…_been spelled…"_

"…_the amount of…"_

"…_unnatural…"_

"…_her eyes…!"_

She took more steps forwards; the butterflies were swarming around her; distantly she felt the hand on her shoulder leap back, and the colors of the butterflies' wings filled her vision.

Kitty reached out one hand, as a dazzling golden butterfly landed on her hand. A smile slowly crossed her face, and she again heard the fuzzy noise that the words had faded into.

The noise sounded again, sounding a bit clearer in her ears, but no random words were deciphered from the static-filled voices.

Suddenly the butterflies were fleeing like seeds on the wind; the flashing colorful creatures were retreating back into the depths of the misty forest; Kitty soon found out why.

Driven deep into the trunk of the tree just inches from her, still quivering, was a spear, tipped with a sharpened arrow-like point, a single feather tied around the arrowhead.

And standing in front of her; no, looming over her was an angry-eyed fairy.

* * *

Yup, a cliffhanger. If you want to flame me for not updating, go ahead. I'll be surprised if any of my original readers are still watching this story. You can go ahead and yell at me if you want. I really will try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow, but I may go to see a movie, and we're eating dinner at a friend's house, so that may complicate things. At least expect another chapter sometime this weekend. If any of you readers out there are still waiting for me, my utmost apologies for not updating. I don't deserve reviewers like you. But still, please tell me what you think. Reviews are like precious treasures.

~Shadey


	12. The Tribe of MoonThe Old Woman of Swamp

Hello, everyone! I'm back! (for once actually keeping my promises) This is the chapter I promised you all, and here it is! Also, you get to learn more about some of the places in my story! Yay! It's not at random after all! (Maybe I should draw myself a map) I actually know how I'm going to end this story! (the wierd thing was, I dreamed it! Don't know why, or how, just know that I have an awesome ending planned! Anyways, that should be in a few chapters, actually...maybe six or seven, I'm not entirely sure. Just read the story!

(And those of you who reviewed, I'm kinda shocked by the fact that you're still reading this story, but good for you! You all get brownies that I stole from my sister {there ARE brownies at my house!} Enjoy the new chapter!)

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

12. The Tribe of the Moon/The Old Woman of the Swamp

Kitty stared at the fairy, all illusions created by the brightly colored butterflies gone, as she looked into the furious eyes of the strange fairy.

She sensed rather then saw Kurt and Sparks stepping out from behind her; had they been trying to get her attention away from the butterflies before? She wasn't too sure.

"_Fallen…"_

The cold voice jerked Kitty back to the present, and she glanced uncertainly at the fairy, which was glaring at her. _"What are you doing here?" _the fairy demanded.

"I…I…" Kitty stammered; she heard Kurt speak up.

"We came through the waterfall. We apologize for trespassing, but we don't know where to go from here."

The fairy stepped forwards, into the light, and Kitty got a better look at her. The fairy had dragonfly-like wings, and white-blonde hair. Cold blue eyes glared out from shaggy bangs.

Surprise emanated from the nameless fairy. _"Where are you from, Fallen?" _she asked at last.

"Treehaven." The replier was Sparks this time.

The fairy gave a grudging nod and vanished back into the undergrowth; feeling desperation well up in her, Kitty cried out, "Wait!"

The fairy's voice floated back. _"What now?"_

"You're not going to just leave us here, are you?"

"…" The fairy reappeared, grumbling, retrieving her spear from the trunk of the nearby tree, and waved it. _"Come," _she growled grudgingly.

Kitty complied, wondering where the fairy was taking them.

* * *

The fog of the forest in the Valley of Mists seemed heavier than before, and Kitty was beginning to think they must have traspised half the forest by now. The fairy was leading them, only occasionally glancing back at them to see if they were following.

Kitty figured since Sparks had known where they were, and she was part fairy, she'd know the fairy too.

"Sparks?"

The red-haired Fallen sighed to herself; the inevitable questioning had arrived.

"Yes, Kitty?"

"What's with the fairy? And what were the butterflies doing?"

Sparks sighed again. "Kitty, why must you always ask questions?"

"Sorry!" the brunette squeaked, and ducked behind Kurt in case anything came flying her way. She was surprised to hear Sparks's answer.

"The fairy is of a fairy tribe known as the 'Tribe of the Moon', the tribe that resides within this valley. And the butterflies…" She paused here, as if to think of a good enough wording for her next sentence. "I believe the creatures were casting a spell on you. The magic was easily detectable; if you had followed the butterflies you would undoubtedly not be standing here talking to us right now. It's a sort of luring system; you'd probably end up in some sort of trap."

Kitty felt another question coming; she held it in for a little while and they traveled in silence for a bit, heeding the occasional command from the fairy leading them; but soon, Kitty felt the need to let the question out.

"Sparks, how do you know so much about this place?"

Sparks turned her head so her eyes were staring at Kitty; she looked surprised, and Kitty wondered if it had been a personal question.

Finally, the half-fairy, half-Fallen girl spoke. "I know about this place because this is where I grew up."

And that single sentence was enough to shut Kitty up for the rest of the journey.

* * *

"_We're here."_

The unknown fairy's voice rang in all three Fallen's minds. Kitty looked around, but all she saw were the trees. Sure, they were standing in a glade, but did that count? She nudged Kurt and asked him if he saw anything, because she didn't, and he advised her, "Look harder."

She stared at the trees, realizing that in the trees were actually houses, carved from the bark and made to look like the rest of the tree (which Kitty had to agree to, as she would never have guessed there were any houses there had Kurt not told her to look again)

More fairies were appearing, some whispering to each other, and Kitty caught some of the mini conversations.

"_Fallen! But what are they doing here?"_

"_The one in front looks familiar…"_

"_How did a group of Fallen get here?"_

"_Why did they come?"_

But most of the speculations, Kitty surmised, were about Sparks, who as far as she knew had lived in Treehaven for a long time. One of the fairies, an older one with dark hair and butterfly wings, moved to the front of the small gathering of fairies. This fairy walked right up to them, but her eyes were focused entirely on the only fairy-like member of their group; it was as if Kitty and Kurt didn't even exist.

"_Sparks?"_ the fairy whispered, and Sparks's head jerked up, her pure-white eyes blinking in shock. A single word was all she said.

"Mother…"

Kitty was shocked, to say the east. To say the most, well…she was stunned; surprised that Sparks had a mother.

Kitty and Kurt stepped back, looking around at the small glen for a while. Fairies flitted by with not a care or a real reason to glance at the two Fallen, and so Kurt and Kitty remained relatively invisible, that is, until Sparks walked over to them, apparently having finished her conversation with her mother, and was now leading another fairy towards them.

The two looked at each other and watched as Sparks appeared in front of them. The other Fallen stated, "This is Lyria. She'll be taking us to see the Old Woman of the Swamp."

"Old Woman of the Swamp?" Kitty repeated.

"Yes. The Old Woman of the Swamp resides near this forest, and she is known for her far sight. She will be able to tell us where to go from here." Sparks explained. The fairy she had brought over, Lyria, had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and wings similar to a lunar moth's.

Lyria flitted through the trees, the three Fallen following her through the ever-present maze of trees, boulders, glades, and the occasional meadow.

The sun was high overhead by the time the forest trees thinned, and a mix of water and mud began to cover the ground. They had reached the swamp.

Kitty decided she didn't like the swamp. Not one bit. There was mud and water everywhere, and it smelled. It reeked really badly, and the awful smell made her wonder who or what had crawled out here to die. Holding her nose, she sullenly followed the others—she wasn't about to be left behind!

"_Here we are,"_ Lyria announced as they stopped in front of a ramshackle hut that had to be standing on the only dry ground in the entire swamp.

Kitty, Kurt and Sparks sat down to wait; Lyria had told them that the old woman came and went as she pleased; the fairies didn't bother her, and she probably knew they were there already anyways.

Minutes passed by before an old woman emerged from the practically-falling-down hut. Now, Kitty had seen old people before, so she knew what to expect, but this lady was an old hag! Dresses in many-times-patched clothes, the wrinkled woman's beady eyes stared at the three sitting before her. Kitty could see from her rounded ears that she was neither fairy nor Fallen—this woman was human, though it seemed as though she had lived far beyond the normal lifespan or the average human, of which Kitty had once been (she was surprised to find that she now considered herself a Fallen)

"And what can I do for you?" she asked, obviously used to seeing random visitors showing up on her doorstep with something they wanted from her.

"We need your help," said kitty, and the Old Woman on the Swamp nodded, beady eyes glittering.

"That's usually the reason why most come to me…but there is always a price to pay… So what do you have to offer for my help in your little quest to save the world?" the woman cackled.

Sparks, Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look. Payment?

"What kind of payment?" asked Kurt hesitantly.

"What do you have to offer?" the old woman countered.

"Er…" Kitty blinked. "Conference!" she hissed at the other two and they crowded together. "What could we possibly give in payment? Seriously! I mean, what have we got that's worth anything?"

They investigated what they had, but what they had was only the clothes on their backs, surely not worth any sort of information.

"Maybe showing something…?" suggested Kurt finally.

"I have an idea!" announced Sparks and walked over to the old hag. "Will you take us showing you something instead, as payment?"

"Depends on what it is," the old woman contemplated.

Sparks nodded; she'd been expecting an answer like that. She held out her hand, and like a miniature sun, the heart of the dragonfire appeared, it's pure white light reflecting off of both Sparks's face and the old woman's, who was staring at the tiny light with wide eyes.

After a few moments, the small orb of light shrunk and vanished. A silence followed, broken by the old woman muttering, "I haven't seen something like that in years!"

"Does that mean…you'll help us…?" ventured Kitty nervously.

The Old Woman of the Swamp nodded. "You must go to the Shrine of Stars."

"The shrine of what now?" asked Kitty, clearly confused, but Kurt grabbed her hand and whispered to her, "This valley is the ancestral home of the Fallen. The Shrine of Stars is said to be the place where the very first Fallen entered this world…and where the ancient gateway to the realm that first Fallen came from, remains…"

Kitty stared at him. "Really? Why do we have to go there?"

They turned back to the old woman, only to find that she was gone. Sparks, who stepped up behind them, said quietly, "It seems our audience is at an end."

"So we have to find this shrine place? How?" asked Kitty.

"It shouldn't be too hard," stated Kurt. "After all, it's on the tallest mountain in this entire valley!"

"Oh…" mumbled Kitty; while she hadn't felt stupid in a while she was feeling it now. "So we…fly?"

"Easiest and fastest form of transportation, that is, unless you count teleporting," replied Kurt with a grin.

He held out his hands, and Kitty and Sparks each took one. Kitty watched as the swamp vanished in the blink of an eye.

* * *

All righty, this chapter's finished! Yup, they're off to finally start trying to save the world! Amazing, right? Yes, this story does have a plot, it's not just random plotbunnies out of Shadey's head. Review peeps, it's the best thing since chocalate chip cookies and ice cream were invented!

~Shadey


	13. The Shrine of Stars

Here's the next chapter of Fallen Angel, peeps! This story's got a few chapters to go, maybe I'll hit twenty, I don't know. I have less time to write now since I have a D in math, but I'm trying really hard to bring it up, honestly! Then I'll have more time. Also, I'm thinking about beginning a new story, in no correlation with this one, neither will it put off my attention towards this story - cuz I am definitely going to finish this one! Here's the summary I came up with:

_Dragon Hearts_: Kitty has always hated dragons. She meets a young dragon named Kurt, and her views entirely change. But when disaster strikes the dragons, can Kitty save the beasts that have become her friends?

I'm writing it out on my computer, tell me if you want me to post this story! In a review, if you would be so kind. Anyways, scroll down for the next chapter of Fallen Angel! Enjoy!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

13. The Shrine of Stars

Kitty felt like she was flying, for a brief moment. Then ground jerked back to existence beneath her feet, and she opened her eyes, blinking instantly to help her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight.

The three Fallen stood on a mountaintop, snow covering its peak and lightly drifting down on them; below them, spread out like a panorama, was the Valley of Mists; in the distance they could see the waterfall, roaring over the cliffs, the very one that had brought them here. The blue sky was cloudless, and the always-present wave of fog blanketed the green forests; she could see, beyond the forest's edge, the beginnings of the muddy swamp where the Old Woman of the Swamp lived.

"It's really pretty up here," Kitty commented, looking out over the beautiful view.

Kurt nodded agreement. "Yeah…"

Sparks murmured, "It was beautiful before, why not now?"

"You mean you can see it?" asked Kitty, glancing over at Sparks.

Sparks shook her head, correcting, "I _have_ seen it. A long time ago…before _this_." She waved one hand at her face, indicating her white eyes.

Kitty nodded, mumbling, "Oh…" So then, how had Sparks become the way she was? But she didn't voice the question, feeling it was too personal to ask. Instead, she asked a different question. "So where's this shrine place?"

"Behind us," stated Sparks, and Kitty whirled around, brown eyes widening in shock.

She was looking at the biggest building she had ever seen in her entire life, counting Treehaven and the fairy village too.

She could see why this place was called the "Shrine of Stars." It was entirely fashioned from ebony stone, speckled with white dots that varied in size, making it look like a reflection of the night sky, the constellations trapped in solid black rock, glittering in the mountain summit's brilliant sunlight. The building was extremely tall, and Kitty didn't even want to know how high up the roof was; she might get dizzy. If she concentrated hard enough, she could see a faint shimmering around the entire structure, evidence of a magical barrier, placed there to keep out those unworthy of looking upon what lay within it; though whatever that was, exactly, was yet to be seen.

"Whoa…" Kitty whispered. "We have to go in there?"

"Yes," Sparks said, and walked forwards, the invisible barrier not stopping her. Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look and took a couple steps; the magic force field quivered but didn't solidify, and they passed through. Now that they were in front of the Shrine of Stars, Kitty got the idea that it was a lot taller then it seemed.

The large doors to the shrine swung open, and Kitty peered into the gloom.

She could see the far-off, domed ceiling, speckled with stars—here she could see why the place was known as the Shrine of Stars, even more so then the outside revealed, for it seemed as though she were looking into the night sky itself, though she knew it to be daylight outside yet; inlaid into the floor of black onyx was a seal-like circle criss-crossed with lines, stark white against the midnight-black of the ground. Around the outer edges were seven perfect half-circles dug into the ground, and at the center of the circle there was a eighth half-circle. Along the sides of the large room were torches, shedding pale orange light on the circle at the center. The dancing glow from the fire cast flickering shadows across the wide circle.

"What is this place…?" Kitty muttered to herself, stepping inside, looking around.

Kurt stepped up next to her. "They say that circle there can open the gateway to the first Fallen's world. But there are special requirements that nobody save for the Guardian of the Shrine of Stars knows."

"Guardian…?" questioned Kitty, confused. What Guardian? She hadn't seen anyone since they had walked up and there appeared to be no one inside, as well.

"Yeah. No one's ever seen the Guardian, but the magical barrier got there somehow, right—someone had to put it there. And the gateway can only be opened if the Guardian is present, so if we're thinking of going to that other realm, we're going to need the Guardian."

"But where would they be?" Kitty looked around, up at the ceiling, by the torches, but she couldn't see anyone besides herself, Kurt, and Sparks in the room.

Neither answered her; Kurt was crouched by the ring of circles. "Kitty?" he called, sounding a little excited. She ran over to him and peered into the depths of the circle, spying a symbol scratched into the bottom. She brushed away some dust, and spied the Fallen glyph for _fire_.

Beginning to get an idea, she moved onto the next circle, eagerly sweeping aside the dust at the bottom, finding the glyph for _air_, barely visible with all the grime coating it, but it was noticeable enough to be seen, and that was enough for Kitty, whose eyesight wasn't the best, but it had improved since she had become Fallen.

A grin stretched across her face, and she beckoned to Kurt. "Come see!"

He crouched next to her, his eyes easily seeing the writing. His eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion she had; she could see him counting the circles—there were seven, and if what she had just seen was anything to go by… There was one circle for each element—water, fire, earth, air, light, dark, and lightning. All of the elements, together at once! Kitty brushed her hair back from her face and crossed to the middle circle—it was bigger than the others, about big enough to fit a curled up person if they scrunched up a bit and weren't too big to begin with. She leaned over the edge and reached to the bottom, clearing away the film of grime and dirt gathered at the bottom; there was no glyph here, in any language; just a single picture, standing out among the faint silver of the half-sphere.

Kitty was staring at a picture of a coiled up dragon, surrounded by a flickering flame.

And that could only mean one thing.

All the elements, plus the dragon's fire, were required to open the gateway to the other realm, where the first Fallen came from.

She scooted back from the rim of the small crater and called to the others, "Can you guys come over here for a second?"

Kurt appeared by her side in milliseconds; Sparks simply fluttered over and alighted by the edge of the circle, questioning, "What is it, Kitty? Did you find something interesting?"

"I suppose you could call it interesting…" Kitty stated, enjoying the suspense.

Seconds passed…

"What is it?" asked Kurt, attempting to get her to elaborate, and Kitty pointed to the circle in the ground. Kurt scooted over to the edge, his sharp golden eyes searching the bottom till they spied what it was that she had discovered, and his eyes widened more, if that was possible.

Sparks leaped into the crater and put her hand against the base of the large circle; she traced the edges of the small image, and she looked up to Kitty. "You think you're clever, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do," said Kitty smugly.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do?" Kitty was taken aback. What was she planning on doing? Sure, she knew how to open the portal now, but what good would that do? After all, Treehaven was destroyed as far as any of them knew, and surely Fervior would come to find them eventually, right? Since he appeared to have all-knowing resources, he'd be coming for them soon enough—after all the Shrine of Stars wasn't that hard to miss, from what Kitty had seen of it. Fervior was sure to know of it, of course—he was a Fallen, despite everything he'd done. So Fervior would track them down, and then what? Sure, there might be some sort of showdown thingy, but Kitty knew that she was as inexperienced with fighting as Fervior was experienced. No contest there—so what if she knew how to open the gateway to that strange dimension the first Fallen came from? So what? What good would it do her if she was killed by Fervior? It wasn't like they could plan some sort of trap, like to open the gateway before hand or something…

Kitty realized she'd just come up with a plan without actually thinking she was making up a plan—smart, huh? Her brain had decided to kick in for once and now she didn't feel quite as stupid as she normally did, and that was a good thing, since she'd managed to feel stupid a lot during their long journey that had somehow brought them to ending up here, like Fate had decided to put some sort of winner's chip into play, and it was up to her to figure out how to use it.

"I have a plan," she announced, rather proudly.

Both Kurt and Sparks turned to look at her, staring in shock. "A plan?" asked Kurt, obviously a bit confused, since Kitty hadn't made up all that many plans before.

"Yes, you have a plan?" inquired Sparks.

"Yes, I do," replied Kitty, a bit angry by the fact that they didn't have much faith in her. She waved at them, and they put their heads together, and Kitty whispered, "Okay, so here's the plan…"

She explained it carefully, laying out the parts that they each would have to play.

Sparks blinked. "I think this might actually work."

Kitty grinned. Finally, some recognition!

* * *

Wow, Kitty came up with a plan? Isn't that amazing? Finally she gets to show her smarts and not seem so stupid, since she barely knows about the Fallen world! Tell me what you think of this chapter, and yah know what? We'll be meeting Fervior soon, aren't you excited? Eh heh... Review!

~ Shadey


	14. Opening the Gateway

All righty, peeps, here it is, my newest chapter in my awesomest story ever! Eh heh...anyways, a couple days ago my strange brain thought up a huge, totally brain-whacking plot twist, and I'm gonna go with it! So this story may not be ending too soon! Yay! Also, this chapter has a **dedication**! Yay to that too!

I'm dedicating this chapter to the one person who reviewed last chapter, Link Fangirl01! You get chocalate-chip cookies! (Cuz they're good for the brain-sort of!) Thanks for reviewing~! Also, if any of you want me to review a story of yours, just tell me in your review, or send me a PM! Okay, read and enjoy this next chapter!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

14. Opening the Gateway

Kitty walked around the perimeter of the large circle, brushing away all the dirt and dust she could find, gradually revealing all of the glyphs for each element. She peered at each one closely, and scribbled down the location of each on the floor with a piece of charcoal that Kurt had found outside.

The circles weren't in any particular order—water, fire, air, earth, light, dark, and lightning—and the dragonfire in the center. Kitty could see why it would be hard to open the gateway, even if one had seven Fallen who could all wield a different element. The dragon's fire also was a hard thing to find, and Kitty counted herself lucky that she had a portion of it. And Sparks had said that they needed the Guardian's permission to cross through the portal, though Kitty couldn't imagine how they were going to find something like that.

She turned and gazed at the wall opposite the entrance, the one between the large seal-circle and the doorway. This one had hieroglyphics inscribed all across the wall, and her better-than-ordinary eyesight could pick out the seam at the center of the wall. This was where the wall would become a pair of doors—doors leading to the alternate dimension that the first Fallen had came from. And that realm, Kitty felt, would be the place for the final battle.

A thought pricked at her mind.

_A last stand?_

She hoped not; after all, they were going to try to stop an evil Fallen who had tried to take over before – and they were the last obstacles to be removed from the chess board.

Kitty walked across the circle to the entrance of the Shrine of Stars, looking around. The scenic view was still there, but it was harder to see. This was because of a large amount of black fire that had appeared around the shrine, at about midday. Kurt had said that it was there to pen them in, make sure they couldn't run. Sparks stated that Fervior was coming and that they'd better start working if they actually wanted to survive.

And that had pretty much shut everyone up.

* * *

As the sun began to set against a pale rainbow sky, the black fire growing around the Shrine of Stars began writhing madly, as though agitated by something; Kurt stated forlornly, "He's coming." Kitty wondered if either Sparks or Kurt believed they could make it through this.

Probably not.

She sighed at her own pessimistic thinking, and turned to the other two Fallen waiting behind her. "We need to start placing the elements."

Kurt nodded and Sparks leaped across the circle and asked, "Do you want me to go first or last?"

"Last," said Kitty, eyeing the half-circles arranged in a neat perimeter around the larger seal circle. She crouched next to the semicircle marked with the glyph _water,_ for it was the easiest of all the elements to control.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the energy pooled within her; feeling a slight tug in the vast energy, a swirling watery orb appeared before her, seen in her mind's eye. She lifted it into the circle, and it glowed blue, the line connecting it to the dragon fire's circle lighting up a brilliant white. The glyph beneath the element was shining dimly. Kitty released her control on the water, but it remained within the circle. Evidently she had to leave all the elements in their respective places in order for the gateway to open. Sighing to herself, she moved on to fire, going through the cycle till all of the elements were in place.

And the light that exploded into existence extinguished the torches with a rush of wind, though it was far easier to see with the new radiance.

Kitty blinked against the shining white light now enveloping the interior of the large, single room in the Shrine of Stars. Each and every element was accounted for; all that they needed was for Sparks to ignite the dragonfire's circle, and the portal would open. Meanwhile, the black fire outside had died down, as if in submission, and Kurt had reported seeing a strange black mist condensing slowly into a humanoid shape—Fervior was coming.

Sparks was standing within the perimeter of glowing element-orbs; against the bright light, Kitty could just barely make out her shadowy form crouching beside the larger circle, dropping a fireball into it.

And the light, which had seemed bright before, grew to blinding intensity; the whole circle was radiating white light, and Kitty had to close her eyes to block the wave of light. And so she did not see Sparks, impervious to the light, dart over to the side of the shrine with the hieroglyphs written on it, and press a portion of the wall shaped into an insignia of a roaring fire-dragon. And Kitty did not see the emblem turn gold; signifying another obstacle in their attempt to open the gateway had been eliminated. However, neither Sparks nor Kitty, or even Kurt, had noticed that a ninth half-circle had appeared, set vertically into the stone wall where the door-seam was, half on one side, half on the other.

The gateway was not yet open.

And Fervior had arrived.

* * *

The black fire had vanished from the outside of the shrine; a shadow passed across the light of the almost-open portal. Kitty watched in apprehension as their enemy stepped through the doorway into the Shrine of Stars.

Fervior was tall, with wide black wings, spread against the bright light, looking rather like insubstantial shadows. He wore metal gauntlets on his wrists. He had tan skin and spiky black hair that stood up slightly as though it had a mind of its own. Blue-black markings dotted his face. But it was his eyes that unnerved Kitty the most. They were pure black orbs, flecked with red. The scary thing was that there seemed to be no emotion in them whatsoever, save for anger, and a desire for revenge.

The dark Fallen walked across to the edge of the glowing circle; Kitty was paralyzed and unsure of what to do. As she watched in frozen anticipation, Kurt seemed to break free of his own paralysis, and lunged at Fervior, but the latter held up one hand, and Kurt stopped mid-plunge sharply, held in the air by Fervior's magic, and Kitty recalled, from a long time ago, Shade talking about how Fervior could manipulate metal, including the iron in blood. She prayed that Kurt wouldn't spontaneously combust; the good thing was Fervior didn't seem to find Kurt to be an opponent. They all seemed to be bugs, beneath his attention—Kitty was hiding against the wall, and Sparks had taken refuge on the other side of the lit-up circle, beside the 'door' in the wall, that might eventually open.

Fervior waved his hand, and Kurt flew through the air to land beside the still-petrified Kitty. He got up, both silently watching as the other Fallen skirted around the edge of the circle, glancing at them once (Kitty could have sworn something flickered in his eyes, but she wasn't sure) and headed straight for the door, which through the blinding light, Kitty's eyes could perceive a slight change in the door—for one, there was a strange, glowing dragon emblem, and a ninth half-circle. This circle was what Fervior made a beeline for.

Kitty could see the vague figure of Sparks beside the door. And then Fervior spoke.

"Move aside, Guardian!"

Kitty didn't know whether he was talking to Sparks or the yet-to-be-seen Guardian, but she forced herself to move a couple inches away from the wall, though she knew she wouldn't get there in time. Sparks flew backwards, as much at the mercy of Fervior's magic as Kurt had been.

As Kitty and Kurt stepped to the edge of the shining circle, the glow died down and they could see Fervior beyond the edge, a faintly glowing, pure white orb held in one of his hands. Kitty stared at it in surprise—it didn't have the same crackling energy as lightning did, nor the golden tinge that light had, but she could sense it was a form of an element—an element she'd never seen before. The sphere pulsated slightly, sending off a faint sheen that highlighted the glyphs carved into the wall, though the unknown element's light was lost past the glowing seal-circle.

Fervior laughed at their shocked faces. He smirked, stating, "This is one element none of you could ever have, and so your feeble attempt to open the gateway would have failed right _here_. Foolish Fallen!" His terrible black, red-flecked eyes narrowed. "This realm was created from Spirit, and so Spirit shall open the door!" He lifted his hand and pressed the white orb into the waiting circle, and rainbow light swirled from the entire wall, the hieroglyphs lighting up in dazzling colors, the circle blazing to life once more, and the seam at the center of the wall cracked down the center. The whole wall was swinging aside, leaving a great, rainbow-colored light-filled circular portal visible, waiting for them.

"Wow…" whispered Kitty. Kurt nodded beside her. Fervior stepped forwards into the light, looking like a shadow against the brilliant, multi-colored brightness; then his silhouette vanished, having been transported through the portal. Sparks glanced back at them; for a moment it seemed as though she could see Kitty and Kurt; then she, too, disappeared into the gateway.

Kitty exchanged a glance with Kurt. "This could be it," she whispered.

"I know. But we have to play our part in saving the world, right?" he said, giving her a small smile. She smiled in return, walking around the circle, facing the glowing, ethereal portal.

_This is it._

Hand in hand, they walked into the portal.

* * *

We met the evil guy, yaaaay! I actually drew a picture of him, but my screwy scanner won't let me upload it onto my computer nooooo! Anyways, tell me what you think, and press the nuce button at the bottom of the page, you know you want to!

~Shadey


	15. The Element Spirit and Memories

Hiya peepz! I know I didn't update last week, sorry about that, I was trying to think of ways to write out this chapter. But my dreams seem to be as inspiring as ever, and so I managed to write out this chapter all today. (I also had more time today anyways eh heh...) If I can, I will try to post another chapter this weekend. Anyways, read on, faithful readers'reviewers, and I celebrate the fact that I have now hit 50 reviews on this story!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

15. The Element Spirit and Memories

Kitty was falling through a tunnel of rainbow light; to her left she could see Kurt; the shining lights flickering all around them in a myriad of colors. Wind flowed through the light, spinning them in random directions. Kitty could see more blinding, white light waiting to receive her and Kurt, and she fell towards it, letting it swallow her up in a single moment.

Kitty opened her eyes, blinking to adjust them to the light. She stood. There seemed to be no recognizable land, or sky, for that matter. The entire landscape of this new realm had blended together into a multitude of shimmering, pulsing colors. Everywhere she looked, there seemed to be swirling colors. Nothing appeared to be solid, save for the ground she felt at her feet; and of course there was Kurt, Sparks, herself, and Fervior.

She remembered. _Kurt and Sparks!_ She could see Kurt groaning beside her, slowly but surely waking up—but where was Sparks, who had gone through the portal second, after Fervior?

A distant roar shattered the tranquil calm; and before she knew it she was running forwards, through the almost misty, congealing colors, shifting and flowing around her as she broke through the lights.

What she saw utterly confused her.

Well, at least Fervior looked relatively the same as before. But where Sparks had gone, she had no idea. Instead, the dark Fallen was facing a tall fiery dragon. The dragon was literally flaming, as far as Kitty could tell. It had ruby-red eyes, and there was something on its forehead, gleaming like a tiny white star.

And all Kitty could think about was that Fervior had done something to her friend. She ran forwards blindly, yelling, "What did you do to Sparks?"

Fervior turned; for a moment, Kitty saw his eyes flash a different color (weird, she thought) but it seemed like a trick of the light. He let out a scornful laugh and pointed at the dragon. "_That _is your friend."

Kitty let one eye look towards the dragon, while keeping the other trained on Fervior, in case he tried anything. But the evil Fallen was simply watching her through his black eyes. She heard the faint 'bamf' noise as Kurt appeared beside her, evidently unsure of how far she had gone and so had used teleportation. She whispered to him, "Apparently Sparks is the dragon." She let her skepticism on Fervior's statement be clear.

Kurt's eyes widened in surprise. "The Guardian…" he whispered, almost reverently.

"Wait…you mean _she's_ the Guardian?" asked Kitty, beginning to gape.

Kurt nodded numbly. Kitty shoved her hands in her pockets to keep them from pointing at anything in wild shock, when her hand came into contact with something small and pointed. She drew it out, eyes widening as she saw it was the strange tooth she had received as a gift, the one that let her see elements.

She noticed Fervior's eyes widen when he saw the tooth, but he made no move to attack. She let the ancient artifact manipulate her eyes so she could see all the elements.

Kitty saw that the swirling colors of the realm had become muted, grayed as she took in the whirling orbs of the elements. She could see Kurt's, an orb of fire, and then a secondary odd orb of smoke and light not moving, but literally disappearing from one place to the next—his teleportation gift; obviously the tooth showed your gifts as well. The dragon had normal fire and the dragonfire, obviously (Kitty finally admitted to herself that the dragon was Sparks when she realized that the star-like object on the dragon's forehead was the heart of the dragon's fire) She could see her own elements, a large ring of swirling colors, as well as a faint, pure white glow that she understood to be the 'brightness' both Shade and Kurt had spoken of when they had looked at her with the tooth's powers. Fervior had two orbs—the metallic one she assumed symbolized his gift in working with metal, and the other the soft, white sphere that had been the final obstacle to opening the gateway—the one he had called 'Spirit'.

She closed her eyes, letting them shift back to 'normal'. Her mind came up with an idea—both Shade and Kurt had been paralyzed when they looked at her using the tooth. Fervior, though he seemed mighty in magic, she suspected he would not have enough to counter the effects of the tooth—and she made a split second decision. She threw the tooth.

It sailed through the air with aim far better than Kitty could have done as a human; one of Fervior's hands whipped out and caught it. For a moment he stared at it, confused; then the small object began to emit a glow. Kitty stepped back a little as the tooth grew in Fervior's hands, becoming the shape of a bow, complete with string as well. She stared in astonishment. How had he been able to do that? Just as she was thinking that, white light enveloped the newly-revealed bow, and when Kitty looked again, she saw a pulsing white arrow nocked at the string.

Realization closed in on her like an icy wind. The tooth had worked for her because she had all the elements. But the reason it had changed for Fervior was because he could use the element Spirit—that was what it had been created for!

A smirk flickered across Fervior's face, and he raised the bow, the gleaming white arrow not moving. Kitty waited, almost closing her eyes in case, but then she noticed Fervior had frozen where he stood, quivering slightly as he fought the paralysis the bow brought when all the elements were looked upon in a single person.

Kitty, very deliberately, took a couple steps towards him, hearing Kurt whisper, "Don't, Kitty!" at her back. But she ignored him, standing a few paces in front of Fervior.

She reached out towards the bow, and his eyes widened very slightly, about as much movement as he could do. Her hand hit the Spirit arrow instead, and in an instant, her world was gone.

* * *

_She was looking out at a smaller Treehaven; dimly she thought this must've been before she was even born, maybe. She floated like a leaf on the breeze, not a care in the world…_

_Kitty looked down and saw a bridge down below, and standing on it was….herself? She looked harder, floating down to the bridge's level, and saw the girl didn't look exactly like her—the brown hair was longer, and her eyes, although blue, seemed clear as glass. At her side was the bow that Kitty's tooth had been, and the one that Fervior had regenerated._

_She followed the girl's gaze and saw a younger Fervior standing on the other side of the bridge. He looked mostly the same as he had been when she had first seen him, but his eyes were different. Instead of black with red flecks, they were a deep brown, with spinning golden flecks. Was this him before he became evil?_

_The girl was speaking._

"_I'm sorry."_

_Kitty jumped at the sound of the nearly-identical-to-Kitty's voice. But what was she sorry for? Had she done something to Fervior? Or maybe he had done something?_

_She concentrated; Fervior was speaking now, in a whisper. "I won't be able to stop it anymore, Karma."_

_Kitty blanched. So this was Karma? No one had told her that she looked like the first all-elements wielder!_

_Karma was returning his gaze, seriousness in her eyes. She nodded once, saying quietly, "I understand."_

_For a moment hope flickered in Fervior's strange eyes, which quickly died away when Karma raised her bow, a Spirit arrow forming rapidly, ready and waiting._

_Kitty could see the sorrow, the grief in Karma's clear eyes, and she knew that whatever the Fallen was about to do, she definitely did not want to do it._

_Karma lowered her head for a moment, and Kitty was shocked to see, for a brief instant, unshed tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away and lifted her head, saying, "I don't want to do this. You know I don't want to…"_

_Fervior nodded swiftly, eyes filling with a faint fear. "You aren't—" he began, but was cut off by Karma's sad, quiet voice._

"_I don't want to do this," she repeated, sounding close to tears now, "but I have no other choice!" She aligned her arrow, and Fervior's eyes took on a pleading look, and he put his hands together, as if begging, beseeching her to not do what she was about to do._

_Karma shook her head, tears finally falling from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' once, and closing her eyes, let the arrow fly. _

_Kitty watched as the arrow flew in a perfect line, and Fervior, too, closed his eyes, not even trying to avoid it. Was this his judgement, she figured, was this what he had expected? _

_What had that arrow done to him? More like, what had Karma done to him?_

* * *

She was drawn back to reality, her hand falling from the Spirit arrow. Vaguely she thought, it seemed so similar to before, only this time it was twisted around—a sort of grim parody of what she had seen in that memory. She looked up at Fervior, who was still frozen in place, the Spirit arrow quavering against the string.

She stepped back slowly, Kurt appearing next to her.

"Kitty, what are you trying to do?" He sounded extremely worried.

"It's all right," she mumbled, glancing back at Fervior. "He's not our enemy."

"WHAT?" Kurt yelled, shock clearly evident.

Kitty turned back to Fervior, realizing the paralysis was fading a bit; the dark Fallen's hand slipped from the string, enough to give it a twang, and the Spirit arrow flew forwards, and Kitty couldn't have dodged it even if she wanted to.

There was no real feeling of impact when it hit her; it seemed the Spirit arrows couldn't hurt you physically—but as she thought this it felt as though her very soul was being shattered into pieces.

Distantly she felt herself fall backwards, feeling the ground against her back only faintly.

The multi-colored lights of the realm were fading into black; Kitty felt her mind slip into the waiting blackness.

The last thing she heard was Kurt's cry, of sorrow and anguish.

"_KITTY!"_

* * *

Muahahahahahaha! Another cliffhanger! (These are becoming regular) While I don't really like reading them, it's always much more fun to actually write them! (Don't mind me, it's just the plotbunnies attacking my brain) Anyways, everyone gets brownies because this story has received over 50 reveiws! Yaaay! Although I've seen more reveiws on other people's stories which have less chapters, this is like a milestone for me. Happy 'Over 50 Reveiws' Day!

~ Shadey


	16. Explanations

All righty, here's the next chapter of my awesome story! (Even though peepz have yet to review my last chapter, this one's been put up because I didn't do one last week, so this one is filling the spot for this week's chapter, in case any of you needed explaining.) Similarly, we get some explanations in this chapter~! Yayz! Some stuff will be explained (from the previous chapter) Wooo! Anyways, read on, and enjoy my latest plotbunny!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

16. Explanations

_Kitty was floating in darkness. What had happened to the strange realm? The multi-colored lights? Kurt and Sparks? She remembered, dimly, Fervior's Spirit arrow hitting her, and she being sent into blackness… She looked around slowly. Where was she now, though?_

This is your mind, Kitty.

_The odd, rumbling, yet somehow familiar voice caught Kitty off guard. "Who's there?" she called, trying desperately to peer through the inky darkness that showed no sign of ending._

_Then a small flame lit up a little ways away from her, growing in size until she could see the shape of the fiery dragon she had seen before in the other realm._

_Sparks._

_But what was she doing in Kitty's head?_

_As if in answer to Kitty's thought, the dragon stated, _The dragonfire within you has brought me here.

"_You're really Sparks?" Kitty questioned before she could stop herself._

_The dragon nodded its head. _Yes. I am sorry for deceiving you. I am the Guardian of the Shrine of Stars.

"_Wait…so the girl you were before…that wasn't really you?"_

_The dragon shifted back into the form of Sparks, asking, "You mean me looking like this?"_

"_Yeah."_

_There was a slight ripple in the darkness and the dragon had reappeared. _You must have your explanations, hmm? Very well. We have time, for the moment. Sit, and listen well. This is a story that happened well before your time.

_Kitty sat obediently and cleared her ears, waiting attentively._

_The dragon cleared its throat and began. _This was long ago. You may remember that in the Tribe of the Moon, I have a mother. _The dragon paused. _She is my mother, truthfully, for I was born a part-fairy, part-Fallen. But that was eons ago. The Shrine of Stars was then recently built to protect the First Fallen's gateway, and it required a Guardian. I was as young as you saw me when you met me in Treehaven—your age. I could tap into the element of the dragonfire even then, and I had always assumed it was the dragon's fire that gave me my red hair.

Around that time the leaders of the Tribe of the Moon began looking for a suitable candidate for the Guardian; I went up to the Shrine of Stars and sat outside the portal's binding-circle. And it was then that the heart of the dragonfire appeared to me, and I have kept it ever since. When I returned with the tiny star shining on my palm, the leaders knew that I was the one. Becoming the Guardian meant becoming something else. You would leave your old life behind; though I retained my ability to turn into my old form, which would serve me well in the years to come; and be ever-vigilant over the circle, to never let the gateway be opened if there was still a chance that it could be done without. The heart of the dragonfire guided me to my new form, and I became a dragon, fittingly. Although it was thought that I would take on a new name for my new form, I chose to keep my old one, as it satisfied my new form as well.

_The dragon stopped and glanced at Kitty, who looked as though she really wanted to ask a question._

Yes, Kitty? _the dragon rumbled, looking faintly amused and exasperated._

"_Why did you come to Treehaven? And how did you become blind if you weren't born that way?" Kitty looked on the verge of another question, but a glance from the dragon-Sparks silenced her._

I came to Treehaven because… _The dragon sighed. _There is another story I must tell you. I, still Guardian, learned of Fervior's rising. He was originally sent to the Shrine of Stars in order to see if he could be contained. I learned then that his soul had been shattered by a Spirit arrow, Karma's in fact, and deliberately; and that darkness had mended it. Fervior's soul, still broken, was held together by threads of darkness. I know not where he got them; I know you have heard the Treehaven version of his story, no doubt from someone who knows it better than I, and the memory you saw was real.

After Karma shot Fervior with her arrow, his soul splintered, this was the point where he seemed to go mad. He was thrown out of Treehaven, eventually coming to the Shrine of Stars. I know he went to the swamps later on, and attempted to exact revenge on Karma for destroying him, through attacking Treehaven. But Karma tried to free his soul from the darkness instead, but only managed to snap a few of the chords of darkness. This was what allowed him to be caught by the Fallen of Treehaven, at least only for the time of one day. He escaped to the Forest later through use of shadow-walking taught to him by the darkness in his thoughts, and many thought that was the last of him.

But Fervior's darkness was only growing. What was left of his good soul was either buried in his subconscious, or locked at the back of his mind. The darkness had won control of Fervior's body, and somehow it persuaded him to wish to open the gateway, for a reason which I am not quite certain of, and which eventually led to us coming here, to stop him.

As to my being at Treehaven, and being blind… _The dragon-Sparks sighed, Kitty waited, wondering distantly if this was some sort of record in the making, either for the long amount of Sparks's talking, or for Kitty herself being silent._

I left the Shrine of Stars because I had failed to prevent Fervior from attacking Treehaven. When he came, I could have intervened. But I sat in the shadows, and waited. And so the Shrine, a complex layer of enchantments allowing the barrier to choose whether to keep people in or out, chose to throw me out. I reverted to my old form outside the barrier, as my dragon form was born of my status as Guardian, and if I was no longer within the shrine I could not claim to be so. I was surprised to find myself with no sight. But I told myself this was my punishment, and set myself on a course for Treehaven, as one of the largest Fallen villages, and the one I knew Karma to be from. I hoped to find an all-elements user who could stop Fervior. But there were none at the village. None had existed since Karma.

And then, I learned of you, Kitty.

"_Me?"_

Yes. You were an intriguing human who was interested in the Fallen. And once I heard your voice, even though it was a bit different, I knew you were Karma's reincarnation. As such, you should have access to all of her elements. Including Spirit.

"_Wait." Kitty frowned. "If I'm supposed to have Spirit, then how come I never knew it existed? And how come Fervior has it? I thought his gift is only metal?"_

Not exactly, _the dragon corrected. _Fervior's more obvious gift was metal, yes, but buried beneath that was a hidden gift: Spirit. It was a practically unknown element, and I believe only two Fallen have ever carried this element, and only one still lives. Fervior and Karma could both use Spirit, and because of that, they bonded, in a way. You remember the memory the Spirit arrow showed you?

_Kitty nodded; unbidden, Karma's tear-streaked face rose into her mind's eye. Why had she been so sad? And Fervior had seemed to know all about it, and even accept it. Maybe because Karma was the one dealing out the punishment? Kitty stopped her trail of thoughts as Sparks spoke again._

Karma felt that Fervior was becoming too reckless; learning how to use his gift was one thing, but using it on humans was another. I think he was being influenced by the darkness in his heart, even then. Karma could see things that others could not; for that she was wise. She could see that something in Fervior was turning, and she hoped to stop it. She thought that because he, too, was a user of Spirit, it would not hurt him as badly as it would others—for Spirit arrows are devastating to your mind. And Fervior, because he knew she was right, and because he knew, too, that he was becoming something terrible, accepted her punishment. But neither of them expected for his soul to shatter. And that gave way for the darkness to fully manifest.

_The dragon trailed off, realizing she had covered everything Kitty had asked about. _Anything else you wish to know?

_Kitty shook her head slowly. "I think I know everything now… Wait, how could Fervior turn the tooth back into its original form?"_

Its magic was linked to the element Spirit. He would be the only one able to generate the Spirit arrows it creates. It never worked for you because you never knew the element existed, and its presence was overshadowed by the other elements. And Spirit may not even come for you, as its nature has been so suppressed by your other elements.

_Kitty took a deep breath. "That's…a lot to take in."_

Indeed. Come, the world awaits you, reincarnation of Karma, all-elements user, human-turned-Fallen—Kitty.

_The dragon blew a breath of flame, and it lit up the darkness. Kitty felt the darkness slipping away, and the dragon faded from her view seconds before everything went blinding white._

* * *

Well, wasn't that interesting? (That seemed like a lot more words on my Word document) So what did yah think? You know you want to review! *points to the button* Dooooo itttt!

~ Shadey


	17. Looking Through Another's Eyes

Here's the next chapter, peeps! I've had a bit more inspiration (not from my dreams this time, oh no, it's from washing dishes!) and this story will go past twenty chapters (Yay!) So that's the news on this story, no, I'm not giving out spoilers *smiles* It's just too much fun to drag it out! Read on, reviewers and/or readers! My awesome story awaits!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

17. Captive Soul/Looking Through Another's Eyes

_Kitty blinked her eyes open. Huh. When the white light had come, she hadn't thought that it _wasn't_ going to take her back to that other realm, right? She looked around. Still in darkness. Was this still her mind? Yet it didn't have that same familiar feel to it that she had had within her own head…_

_No, it didn't seem like it. She could actually hear snatches of noise, unlike when she'd been back in her own head, where apparently being knocked out means no background noise. She could hear fragments of words and the occasional whoosh of fire—Kurt or Sparks, she imagined, with the fire, and the slightest twanging noise—the bow, no doubt unleashing Spirit arrows._

_She closed her eyes, feeling her surroundings seem to shift. She could hear something else now, drowning out the other bits of sound—wind roaring, maybe? She opened her eyes to find she was staring at a whirlwind; Kitty was standing in the eye of a hurricane, a hurricane without water, so more like a tornado, so it seemed. She stared hard enough at the edges of the roaring winds, and could see the edges of snaking chains of shadowy darkness flickering through and around the maelstrom._

_Kitty had a pretty good idea where she had been taken. That white light, that had brought here, reminded her of the element Spirit…so now she was stuck in Fervior's mind?_

_She walked over to the rotating winds, attempting to walk through it, but the wall of air repulsed her. Frowning, she glanced around for something else to use—and her eyes alighted on the sitting form of Fervior._

_Slowly, cautiously, she crept over to him, noticing he seemed frozen in that position. His glazed eyes, she noted, were brown with gold flecks, like the ones he'd had in the memory she'd seen._

_So this was the good Fervior? Locked away in the back of his own mind, bound by the chains of darkness that had probably consumed almost all of his broken soul?_

_After thinking all that, Kitty figured it was a pretty bad way to live—if you were even conscious of your life being taken away in the first place. Yeah…_

_Hmm… She walked around Fervior, attempting to shove him towards the biting wind to break through the air, but he remained unmoving, and it was then that she noticed the chains of darkness that covered the outside of the whirlwinds snaked across the ground as well—several bound the stationary Fervior to the floor. Well, there went that idea. She walked back around him and crouched in front of him. She looked closely at his eyes—could she see something in them? A reflected picture, perhaps…?_

_Her eyes widened as she made out the shape of Kurt, dodging several Spirit arrows shot in his direction; in the distance, she could see her own body, lying askew against the ground of the realm, the dragon-Sparks crouched beside it, flaming wings spread over Kitty as if protecting her in case any Spirit arrows came too close._

_She unconsciously reached out one hand towards her friends, and as her hand collided with Fervior's shoulder, everything swirled away and she fell into darkness._

* * *

Kurt leaped backwards as a Spirit arrow flew past him. While he had never really cared much before, he now thanked his lucky stars that he was rather agile and capable of dodging arrows without exerting the necessary energy to teleport. He attempted throwing the occasional fireball, but most of them swung wide, or, if they did head in the right direction, Fervior would swat them away.

What on earth had made Kitty think Fervior wasn't their enemy?

He scuttled forwards, throwing another fireball. Fervior stepped to the side and the fireball flew off into the depths of the realm, the swirling colors swallowing up the thin pinprick of orange light.

Kurt got ready with another fireball; suddenly Fervior froze—not like the kind that looking at Kitty with the bow in hand had produced; no, this freezing in place seemed more out of _confusion_ than anything else.

The blue Fallen noticed that Fervior's eyes had changed color—again. (How many times were his eyes going to change color?) But neither the black with red flecked nor the brown with gold flecked eyes stared out at him—these eyes were a crystalline blue.

He _knew_ those eyes!

Kurt spared a glance backwards at the unconscious form of Kitty, still watched over by the fiery dragon. He looked forwards, at Fervior; the blue eyes were unnerving him. He forced himself to speak.

"…Kitty…?"

* * *

_Kitty cheered to herself. How had he known? "Kurt?" she called out, hearing her own voice in her ears. Kurt stiffened, looking perplexed, eyes flicking back and forth between her body and Fervior, who—she assumed—she had taken control of, sort of?_

"_Kitty, is that you?" Kurt asked; his eyes filled with confusion. _

"_Yeah, um, it's rather hard to explain so please don't ask why I'm here and not there, and it's really strange here, like you wouldn't believe, and…am I rambling?"_

_Kurt nodded, his facial expression: disturbed. "Do you know how to get back?"_

"_Back?"_

"_You know, to your own body?"_

"_Ohh…" Kitty paused, thinking. "I hadn't really thought about that one… Er…" She glanced down, still unnerved by the Spirit arrow sitting, waiting against the bow. _Hmm… _she stared at the arrow for a moment, an idea beginning to form in her head. She raised the bow, walking forwards a few steps. Kurt leaped out of her way._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_I have an idea," she exclaimed._

"_And what would that be?" Kurt sounded suspicious, as if her little plot would involve _him _getting hit with a Spirit arrow (she snorted to herself at the very idea)_

"_I'm going to attempt to transfer my mind to the Spirit arrow, and I'll shoot my body with it."_

"_Wait, you really think that'll work?" Kurt was dubious of Kitty's all-mighty plan._

"_Of course," replied Kitty, miffed, though she herself harbored small seedlings of doubt._

_Kurt studied the arrow in question for a moment; then spoke. "So if your…ah…mind is going to be in the Spirit arrow, then who's going to shoot said arrow?"_

"_Well…" Kitty looked down at the bow. "Er…" She thought fast. "I suppose…maybe…gah! Um, why don't we just see if my plan works first, shall we?" She laughed nervously._

"_Riiight," muttered Kurt skeptically, and stepped to the side, signaling to Sparks, who lifted her wings and flew a short distance from where Kitty's body lay. Kitty shifted the bow awkwardly, realizing something rather terrible at that moment._

_She didn't know how to shoot an arrow, or even _use_ a bow!_

"…_Kurt…?" she began hesitantly._

"_Yes, Kitty?" he looked over at her. "Is your plan not working?"_

"_It's not that…" she said, and her next words made Kurt hit himself, she was that hopeless._

"_I don't know how to use a bow…"_

"_Are you serious?" he asked, and Sparks, who was now sitting next to him, nodded, red eyes almost laughing at Kitty's hopelessness._

"_Well…let me try…" Kitty lifted the bow, trying to see the line of flight the arrow would take, clumsily managing to at least point the arrow in the right direction. She closed her eyes…and _remembered_._

_The girl in her vision, from before—Karma—had been able to use the bow, as she had seen. Sparks had called Kitty herself, the reincarnation of Karma—perhaps because she looked like her predecessor, or maybe because they were truly similar in appearance. Either way, according to her 'memories', she should be able to shoot at least a single arrow, right? And she should probably take into consideration that she was 'possessing' Fervior, and _he _knew how to shoot an arrow. So it didn't matter whether or not she, herself, couldn't shoot worth a penny, it should be enough that she sort of _knew _how to do it._

_Steeling herself, drawing from her memory of her vision, Kitty drew back the bowstring, the Spirit arrow's glow intensifying as she attempted to release her mind from Fervior's, and transfer it to the arrow._

_The last thing she really saw was the Spirit arrow glowing like a tiny sun._

_She felt the brief sensation of flying…_

* * *

Kitty opened her eyes slowly, sitting up, examining herself. Her own brown hair hung in her face. She gave a silent cheer in her head. _Yes! _She was herself again!

She got up, grinning at Kurt, as if to say, 'I told you so!' She glanced over at Fervior, seeing his eyes had changed back to black with red flecks.

Showdown time!

* * *

Well, well, well! This story is getting more interesting, isn't it? You know what to do! The button's right there, waiting! You know you want to review!

~ Shadey


	18. Spirit, Light, and Dark Together?

Yay, it's the next chapter of my awesometastic story! Sorry I didn't update Saturday, I went to a movie, ate out, and then spent some time at a carnival. And my sister threw up in the car. So it was a kind of strange night. Anyways, here's my next chapter. I MAY be updating this coming Tuesday, because, that, readers, is my birthday! WHOO! I'll be 15! Yay! So I'll probably update on Tuesday. Read on!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

18. Spirit, Light, and Dark…Together?

Kitty waited—now she was really wishing she had the bow, since she sort of knew how to shoot arrows now, and maybe the element Spirit would work for her—just maybe?

"What do we do now?" she whispered to Kurt, who was standing next to her.

"Wait…maybe?" Kurt mumbled, thinking. "Well…"

Sparks, back in half-fairy-half-Fallen form for whatever reason, was keeping her now-red gaze focused on Fervior. "He's doing something…" she hissed at Kurt and Kitty, and both turned to face the direction she was looking in.

For certain, there was something going on. But what, that was what Kitty was unsure of.

Tendrils of darkness were appearing in a sort of tornado around all four of them, the inky-black threads blocking out the multi-colored lights from the first Fallen's realm.

As the light from the other world was fully extinguished by the blackness all around them, the invisible ground dropped out from under their feet, and all were sent tumbling into darkness.

* * *

"Oof…" grumbled Kitty, sitting up, blinking slowly. The swirling colors of the other realm were nowhere to be seen; all there was to see was great, black, obsidian walls towering over them. For a moment Kitty thought they had been returned to the Shrine of Stars; but there was no binding-circle etched into the floor, and the walls were completely black, without the white speckles signifying the stars.

Kitty noticed that if the chamber had been completely dark, she wouldn't have been able to see a thing—even with her Fallen-enhanced vision. The faint light, making a circle, was made from, as Kitty looked up and saw, a nearly opaque black glass (here Kitty wondered how on earth there was such a thing as black glass—that light could actually go through)

The faint, grayish light fell upon an obsidian circle, raised a bit, as if meant to be some sort of table. Kitty was distracted by the sounds of her friends waking up.

"You guys okay?" she asked worriedly.

Kurt grinned. "Don't you think it takes a little more than a fall to really hurt us, huh?"

Kitty smiled in relief. "I figured as much."

"Where are we?" asked Sparks, looking around. Kitty could only shrug. "I have absolutely no idea," she said. "This place is weird…"

Sparks stiffened. "Look!" she hissed, and pointed. Kitty followed her gaze, staring in surprise.

Fervior was sitting just outside the circle of dim, gray light; if she squinted hard enough, she could—barely—see the chains of darkness. While here there was no whirlwind for the chains to anchor to, Kitty could see that they snaked from the edges of the black walls—practically buried into the obsidian. Fervior didn't move from the spot, and Kitty (rightfully) assumed that this was the spirit of the dark Fallen, bound together by the shackles of shadowy darkness.

Kitty glanced at the Spirit-arrow-generating bow, which had appeared in her hands (as Fervior couldn't use it in his present state) and closed her eyes, attempting, in vain, to create a Spirit arrow.

Nothing happened.

In truth, as Kitty searched her power, the presence of Spirit was so small and slippery she couldn't hold onto it for long, especially not to draw it to the surface to actually _use_ it.

Growling in frustration, she turned and asked, "How do you make Spirit arrows?" to either Kurt or Sparks, but both simply stared at her and shook their head in confusion.

Narrowing her eyes, Kitty crossed the room—around the circle of light and its little table, and crouched next to Fervior, who did not move at all as Kitty approached.

Kurt's voice floated to her. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a Spirit arrow," she replied. "I don't think he'll miss one…after all, he seems to have an endless supply." She lifted the bow, inching closer to the dark Fallen, as close as she dared, and held the bow out, the tip nearly brushing one of Fervior's wings. For a moment, silence permeated the chamber and all was still. Then a glowing light built up around the bow, and before Kitty could even blink her eyes she saw a Spirit arrow sitting, gleaming, against the string. She stepped backwards and walked back to Kurt and Sparks as quickly as she could, grinning to herself at her idea of getting an arrow.

She sat next to the other two, and Kurt eyed the Spirit arrow suspiciously. "Now that you've got that, what do you plan on doing with it?"

Kitty paused, staring at the white arrow, her mental train of thought slowing. "You know…I don't really know…"

She caught a muttered word of 'hopeless' from Kurt, and she glared half-heartedly at him. Sparks said nothing, simply staring at the Spirit arrow for a long while, and then asked: "What can combat darkness?"

"…Light, isn't it…?" mumbled Kitty, now wishing she'd paid more attention to Shade's lessons.

"So what would happen if we combined the elements? Light, Dark, and Spirit?"

Kitty frowned. "What do we need Darkness for?"

"Light cannot exist without Dark; so we cannot wield one without the other." Kurt explained. "I learned that when we were taught about all the elements. Didn't pay that much attention to it, though…"

Sparks gave a sigh, as if condemning both Kitty and Kurt for their non-attentiveness.

Kitty looked at the Spirit arrow; Sparks and Kurt did too.

"This might work…" she whispered, words springing to her mind. "Darkness to manipulate the chains, Light to banish them, and Spirit to restore!"

Kurt's eyes widened as he understood.

Sparks grinned. "This plan of yours…might just work…"

Kitty closed her eyes, recalling a distant memory of training with Shade.

* * *

"_Kitty, concentrate!" Shade snapped, dark eyes glaring. Kitty shifted her gaze to the ground as Shade ranted._

"_Stop trying to summon them both at once! You're just a beginner, so only try _one at a time! _You hear me?"_

_Kitty nodded numbly, holding out one palm and attempted, like many times before, to summon either Darkness or Light._

_She screwed up her eyes, her other hand balling into a fist—and she felt a faint shimmer in the air, and when she dared to look again, she saw with elated surprise, a tiny black orb hovering inches from her hand._

_Shade nodded. "Good! Now—" she didn't finish. Kitty's orb of Darkness shrank to the size of a pin, then disappeared, leaving Kitty feeling rather miffed._

"_Concentrate; don't let _anything _distract you!" Shade reminded her, and she nodded, grumbling under her breath._

"_Good. Again!" Shade called, and it was back to work._

* * *

Kitty remembered that Shade had told her specifically not to summon both at once, but it didn't seem like she had much of a choice—and besides, hadn't she had enough practice already?

She let her mind drift…

* * *

_Kitty was standing on an immense plane of white. Before her eyes, swirling into existence beneath her feet, was a black-and-white swirling circle, and she felt an almost rhythm to the air. She remembered what Dark and Light stood for:_

_Life and Death._

_Earth and Sky._

_Creation and Destruction._

_There were many others that flooded through her mind like water from a waterfall. She closed her eyes, sensing more than seeing, that the great circle underneath her was rising; forming into two orbs—one pure black, one pure white. The two orbs drifted apart, hovering inches above her outstretched hands. She reached up at the same time, hands connecting to the pulsing spheres of power…_

Kitty's eyes flashed open, and she almost allowed herself a grin at the two orbs hovering beside her. She looked down to the Spirit arrow, and pulled the spheres closer, hearing Sparks's voice.

"Put them one at a time over the arrow, Kitty!" She sounded almost like Shade, Kitty reflected, and selected the Darkness orb, figuring it was better to use it first, and Light second.

She guided the pulsing dark circle to the Spirit arrow, where the soft, white glow of the arrow vanished, hid beneath a thin covering of the Darkness orb's making.

Acting on instinct—or maybe it was her connection to the element—Kitty knew, almost without really realizing it, that she should place Light over Darkness quickly, or risk losing the arrow entirely, and while she knew she could always get another Spirit arrow from Fervior, she wasn't sure how well she'd be able to summon Darkness and Light again.

She drew the Light orb forwards; the small, shining light lit up the others' faces in the dim gloom. Kitty carefully pressed the circle to the Darkness-covered Spirit arrow—she could still see a vague hint of the original element's glow—and once the Light hit the other elements, the arrow began to spark like some sort of fireworks display. The arrow became mostly white again, with faint shades of gray and tinges of gold. It was still sparking; Kitty quickly stood; she didn't want to waste what time she had.

_Here goes nothing! _she thought, slightly desperately; for a moment afraid her plan wouldn't work. Then the arrow was flying, straight and true.

Kitty didn't see it even hit Fervior, for seconds after she'd loosed the arrow, brilliant white light washed the room until she was forced to close her eyes to avoid blindness.

_What had just happened?_

* * *

Yes, what _did _happen there? Muahahaha! Cliffanger! *grins evilly* Review! Cuz you know you want me to update on Tuesday! (My birthday! Squee!)

~ Shadey


	19. Secrets Revealed

Yes, I know I said I'd update on Tuesday (My birthday! Wheee!) but my parents wouldn't let me get on my computer - they said I had to study for finals (Bleh!) So, a day late, here is the next chapter of my most awesome story ever! Read it and you know what's coming next: REVIEW!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

19. Secrets Revealed

Kitty kept her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the spots to vanish; then she slowly peeked open one eye, the other quickly following suit as she stared in utter disbelief.

She was aware of Kurt and Sparks, sitting up beside her, and of Fervior, just beyond the circle of light, lying in a heap. But what really captivated her attention was what had appeared _within _the circle of dull, gray light, stretched out on the tiny table-like structure.

She crept slowly closer, as if daring her eyes to be playing tricks on her. She blinked rapidly and looked again. No, no tricks. This was reality, surely.

There in the center of the light, was what appeared to be a clone of Kitty. _Maybe not…_

Kitty remembered…her mind drifting back to the Spirit arrow's vision. Was it possible…? She was supposed to be dead, right?

She heard Kurt creep up behind her, staring also in shock. And when she heard Sparks speak, her suspicions were confirmed.

"_Karma…?"_

Kurt muttered, "Wasn't she dead…?"

Sparks shrugged. "That is what everyone assumed. There wasn't a body. Everyone figured she'd been destroyed, but now I think she was consumed by the Darkness, and because she was a Spirit user, that bound her to Fervior—we restored Fervior's soul, and she was freed."

Kitty narrowed her eyes. "But is she _dead_?" That, she sensed, was the real question here.

Sparks gave another shrug. "Who knows…?"

Kitty nodded warily, and wasn't quite as surprised when Karma stirred, then the eyes opened—just as the Spirit arrow had shown Kitty, crystalline blue so like her own, yet clear as glass.

The almost-clone of Kitty sat up slowly, eyes darting around in surprise. She stood, and as if drawn to the action, Kitty, Sparks, and Kurt did as well.

First the all-elements user turned to Sparks. "Guardian…" she spoke quietly (obviously she could tell what Sparks truly was) and Kitty listened—the voice was the same as she had heard in the vision as well. This _was_ Karma.

"Guardian, I am sorry I did not heed your advice. By seeking out Darkness, I was in turn consumed by it." Sparks's red gaze was impassive, but she nodded once, and Karma turned to Kitty.

"_You…"_

Kitty jumped at being directly addressed. "Me?"

A faint smile flickered across Karma's face. "Yes. You are the one I saw within the ever-lasting Darkness, the only light within that dark expanse. You are an all-elements wielder as well, I take it."

Kitty nodded slowly, not sure what to make of this.

Karma's gaze swept across the room, eyes alighting on Fervior. She picked up the bow from where it had fallen from Kitty's hands after the explosion of light, and crossed the circle of light to kneel beside Fervior. Kitty became aware of the fact that his eyes were open, and had probably been watching them for a while. Karma whispered something in his ear, and after a long pause, he nodded reluctantly. Karma got up and walked back to Kitty, Kurt and Sparks; Fervior trailed behind her.

They all sat in a circle, and waited. Karma began speaking. "I am sure you are curious about this change of events, are you not?"

Kitty, Kurt, and Sparks nodded in unison, not daring to speak.

Karma stood. "This was during the first attack on Treehaven…"

Kitty let herself be swept away be the words.

* * *

_I could see the sun beginning its descent, to bring on the night. Treehaven was burning; and I knew exactly who had led the attack. I move now, or else lose the advantage of sunlight._

_Luckily, or maybe unluckily enough for me, I knew him better than perhaps even he knew himself, and caught up to him on the bridge just outside the Fallen village. I remembered this place—where I had first passed judgement on him. Would I be forced to do it again? The gods seemed to be mocking me; the sun's dying rays highlighted the bridge and both of us, making my memories of this place grow; for a moment, I was lost in the past—but I shook myself and forced myself to face him._

"_Why?"_

_That single word nearly took all I had to speak, but I made myself go on. "Why have you done this?"_

_He turned to face me; and I was surprised to see his eyes. No longer the ones I had known all my life, they were cold black orbs flecked with spinning red dots. What had happened to him?_

_A memory swept across my mind—my using the Spirit arrow in an attempt to break him free of the darkness. Now I knew the truth—my arrow had shattered all that was good in him, leaving a void to be filled by the Darkness. I bowed my head. _I _had done this!_

_I realized he still hadn't spoken. "Why?" I screamed; my hand finding the bow strung over my shoulder. In very deliberate motions, I drew it from my shoulder, and allowed the element Spirit to flood over me. When I opened my eyes, a gleaming, bright Spirit arrow sat waiting on the bow. Trying not to let the old memories take over, I aimed, and for a moment, I could see his eyes flash, changing back to their old color, but just as quickly, they were cold and black again. _

"_Please…" I found myself saying, pleading for I don't know what, but he didn't move. And as my arrow leapt from the bow, strands of darkness swirled around him, and the light, stained orange by the setting sun, was vanishing, replaced by utter blackness._

_I knew this feeling—it was being consumed by the Darkness. I tried to use my elements to save me, but as my physical body vanished within the blackness, I could still feel that my spirit had remained intact. However much that I could have done was gone now, as I slipped into the deep void of black, fading, falling…_

* * *

Silence reigned at the end of her story. Kitty noticed that the walls of the chamber no longer seemed as threatening, or even as black as before. She said, almost timidly, "Where did all the darkness go?"

Karma looked around, eyes widening. "The Darkness was banished by the Light, and has now moved on to find a new host…"

"A new host?" Kurt repeated, looking weirded out.

"Yes." Karma's gaze raked past them. "Who among you that you know of is most susceptible to the Darkness? Those with the dark/light element would be most prominent, but there are those with dark hearts as well. So I ask you again: who among you is most controllable by the Darkness?"

Kitty thought, her eyes flicking back and forth between Fervior (who had yet to say a word) and Karma (who seemed to be doing all the talking), a question evident in her eyes. Finally she asked, "What about you two?"

Karma blinked, and then slowly nodded. "We were in contact with the Darkness most out of everyone here, but the Darkness did not remain here; it has fled somewhere else. And your arrow of Light, Dark, and Spirit purged the Darkness from both us and this room. Now, the only problem is that there is more Darkness out there, looking to find a new person to control. How many do you know that have the dark/light element, and live in Treehaven?"

Kitty could think of one right off the top of her head, but she looked to Kurt. He shrugged. "I know of about three or four."

"And which of these, let's say four, is the closest to using the dark part of the element the most?"

Kurt thought slowly, muttering under his breath. "…uses light too much….again, uses light too much….that one's pretty much equal…" His eyes widened, not listing off the last of the four's description of their use of the dark/light element. He looked up at Karma. "What if they have another element?"

Karma's blue eyes narrowed. "What element?"

Kitty felt as though she knew what was coming next. Another element…also with the dark/light element… Kurt wasn't going to say what she thought he was, right?

For a moment Kurt didn't say anything, as if debating over something. Finally he said, "Lightning."

Kitty very nearly stopped breathing.

She knew of only one person that had dark/light anyways, but to have lightning as well, with only two lightning-born users in Treehaven…she looked across at Kurt, locking eyes with him, and realized he knew too.

_Shade._

* * *

Yup. The plot thickens, eh? What will happen next? *dramatic music* Any-ways, I'm celebrating my 15th birthday! Whooo! Everyone gets chocalate-chip cookies in honor of my birthday (and I'm one year away from becoming 16! Scary thought) Review peeps, you know you want to! It is irresistable! Muahahahahaha!

~ Shadey


	20. Planning

Hello again peeps! *Ahem, faithful readers/reviewers* This is the twentieth chapter of my awesone story! Yay! But the bad news is that this story's almost over! O.O Nuu, right? Don't worry, there'll be a sequel! And it'll have a lot more stuff in it then this one - kinda like this story was setting up for the sequel more so then telling a story, but there's a plot, like - oh, I shouldn't tell. I may give a preview for it in the last chapter of this story, so look out for it! Here's the next chapter of _Fallen Angel_! Read on!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

20. Planning

_Shade wandered the Forest, some ways away from Treehaven—she had never really liked being around people, and so she found herself walking the paths of the Forest, beneath the cover of a star-studded night sky._

_While humans could barely see a foot in the dark of night, Shade was no human. She was a Fallen, and as such, could see fine in shadows. She found a clearing bathed in weak, transparent silver moonlight, and sat, attempting to meditate. However, as it had never been one of her best points, she found herself thinking almost immediately._

_A shift in one of her elements arose to her mind. She looked around in confusion; had that been a stirring of Darkness?_

_She stood quickly, dark eyes sweeping the foliage all around the clearing. For a moment all appeared calm; then she spotted the black flame flickering among the ferns; while it did not set anything on fire, it was withering away the plants beneath it, and even the great trees of the Forest seemed to be creaking. _

_This was pure Darkness, able to corrupt anything that touched it at will._

_Though she knew immediately not to go to it—maybe it was because she held the dark/light element, and the element was telling her such?—she also felt drawn to the flickering dark fire. Her body moved on its own, carrying her to the Darkness, and as she reached out one hand, her fingertips brushing against the flame's edge, the Darkness reacted._

_Shade slipped into the waiting blackness, her last thought of the fact that she knew she shouldn't have come to the Darkness, but she had done it anyways…_

* * *

Kitty paced around in circles. Kurt had teleported them all out of the strange chamber, and surprisingly enough they had ended up back in the first Fallen's realm. Now all that had to be done was the gateway re-sealed (now that they had left the other world and returned to their own in the Shrine of Stars) and then they could be on their way to _really_ save the world.

Time dragged by, and it seemed like almost half an hour before Sparks appeared at the doorway of the Shrine of Stars, and announced that the gateway's bindings had been re-affirmed.

"We're going back to Treehaven, right?" asked Kitty, just to be sure.

"Yes. But just to see. We have to make a plan. Rushing in there blindly will do us no good," explained Karma.

"Right," mumbled Kitty in agreement. "Do we fly there, or—" she turned to Kurt "—can you teleport us there?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not over this great a distance. Besides, I don't even know the relative direction of Treehaven from the Valley of Mists. Sure, I've heard about this place and all, but I've never actually been here until now. So we're going to have to fly."

Kitty was actually sort of happy that they were going to be flying—after all, she needed some practice, for flying from the training hollow back to her place in Treehaven really didn't count as rather good practice.

And so they were off!

* * *

It had been decided that Kitty would be the one to go into Treehaven, to see if she could find Shade. After all, Kurt and Sparks were more recognizable then Kitty was; neither Karma nor Fervior could go—Karma was believed to be dead, and Fervior was supposed to be evil. And that left Kitty. Kitty looked relatively 'normal' so she should be able to pass as a regular, random Fallen, and (hopefully) no one would pay too much attention to her.

"I'm ready!" she called. "When should I come back?"

"As soon as possible," stated Karma. "You just have to glimpse her and that'll be enough. Don't make too many suspicious actions—like searching too obviously. You might become a target."

Kitty nodded once, lifting off from the tree (which had been designated their rendezvous point) and flew lightly through the air, her eyes finding Treehaven, nestled into the trees. Slowly she soared across, flitting from one rooftop to the next, eyes searching for Shade.

She spotted the Fallen girl walking through Treehaven. _That's funny… _Kitty thought, staring; _She doesn't look any different…_

Suddenly Shade looked up, and Kitty quickly ducked behind the nearest rooftop, panicking. _Did she see me?_

Shade kept walking; obviously she hadn't seen anything wrong, or at least, if she had, she wasn't making a fuss over it. Kitty breathed a small sigh of relief, and twisted around to look across the rooftop. Shade still didn't seem different, but what drew Kitty's attention was the shadowlike thing following the other Fallen. If Kitty squinted hard enough, she could just barely see a shadowy creature following along behind Shade. It kept pace right behind her, and Kitty wondered how Shade, let alone the other Fallen at Treehaven, didn't notice the thing.

Then it occurred to Kitty that the creature—most likely the Darkness—was probably either in Shade's shadow, invisible, and the only reason Kitty could see it was because she held all elements, or it was manipulating the light or air to make it seem as though there was nothing there.

Clever, really, once she thought about it. Waiting until Shade and the Darkness creature were out of sight, Kitty flew out from behind the rooftop and soared over Treehaven, heading back to the tall tree—the rendezvous point.

There was information to be shared and plans to be concocted.

* * *

Karma was the only one Kitty could see as she approached the tree, landing on the branch beside her pre-incarnation. But then Kurt appeared, amid a poof of smoke and a small spark of light, with Sparks in tow, announcing they'd been surveying the treetops (for who knows why) and Fervior was farther up the tree, but Karma said he was listening all the same.

"Did you see her?" asked Karma.

Kitty nodded. "Yup. She didn't seem different—but that was just _her_. I also saw this weird shadowy creature-thing following her. No one else seemed to notice it thought, not even Shade… I'm kinda wondering about that…"

"The Darkness is probably using its powers to make itself be ignored by everyone…including its new host…" surmised Karma, drumming her fingers against the tree's bark.

"So what can we do?" Kurt asked.

Karma frowned. "I'm not sure…"

Sparks spoke up. "I remember something about the original sealing of the Darkness…supposedly they used the full manifestations of the elements Light and Spirit, for it was known then, and managed to scatter the Darkness so that it wouldn't gather itself for many centuries. We could try something similar—after all, we do have two all-elements wielders, do we not?"

"True…" murmured Kitty, recalling when she had used the arrow of Light, Dark, and Spirit to banish the Darkness from Fervior. "But wouldn't we have to use the Dark element as well?"

Sparks shook her head. "No, not unless you want to _strengthen_ the Darkness. Since the Darkness has fully manifested itself—and taken over Shade—we shouldn't need to use the Dark element, only Light and Spirit. And this way, we can simply destroy the malicious part of the Darkness, and not the element itself."

Kitty nodded slowly; that made sense. "So how can we fully manifest Light and Spirit?"

Sparks thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure about that part. It wasn't all that clear. But I do know for a fact—if you attempt to fully manifest an element—_any_ element—you could lose yourself to the chosen element. Remember that the elements are neither good nor evil, but they can be used as such by their wielders. In order to prevent from losing yourself during manifestation, you must have an anchor to this world—someone who shares the element, ideally, but someone who is close to you, or is family, works just as well."

Kitty tilted her head. "So we just…choose an element and someone who'll keep us from slipping away?"

Sparks nodded. "Kitty, you should probably do Light; even if you could summon Spirit, I doubt you could control it. No offence to you or anything, but…"

"No, I get it. Spirit doesn't really work for me." Kitty agreed. "So Karma, you'll do Spirit?"

Her look-a-like nodded swiftly.

Kitty questioned, "How will anyone anchor us to this world? I mean, do we have to be touching?"

"Holding hands will suffice," stated Sparks, and Kitty nodded, half to herself.

"When do we start?"

"All you have to do is choose an anchor. We can leave as soon as you have decided," explained Sparks.

Kitty looked around at them all. Kurt would be the obvious choice, but she wanted to think about the others first. Sparks was a friend, yes, but not more so then Kurt. Karma was like a clone of Kitty—more accurately, Kitty was a copy of Karma, but Karma would be embodying Spirit. Fervior was the odd one out—she didn't really know him, at all, save for the memories 'borrowed' from Karma, or was it the Spirit arrow? Anyways, her mind was made up.

"Kurt?" she asked, and the blue-furred Fallen looked up. "Yes Kitty?"

"Will you help me?"

He grinned, his fangs showing. "Of course, Kitty. You know I would. All yah got to do is ask."

She smiled and turned to Karma. "Ready?"

Her sort-of 'twin' was silent for a moment, eyes closed, clearly thinking. After a couple seconds, her eyes flickered open, and she lifted into the air, flying up to Fervior's perch. She jerked on one of his wings, and he followed her back down to the larger branch.

"Yes," she said once back on the branch.

Kitty smiled to herself.

_Time to go save the world!_

* * *

Whee! The _real _world-saving starts now! And I've hit twenty chapters! Yay! You know what to do, peeps! The review button - and me - awaits you!

~ Shadey


	21. Light and Spirit

Wow, I must be really bored if I managed to type all this in two days. Huh. Well, most of it I attribute to the 'more-computer-time' factor, it's summer and there's no school, so evidently I have more time to type up this story. Unfortunately this story is almost over. However, (good for you) there is a sequel! (which will be much longer, there's a lot more going on in that one) So here's the next chapter, read it and you know to review!

If the name of the story and chapter title aren't centered, blame my screwy computer.

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

21. Light and Spirit

Kitty lifted off from the tree, Kurt tailing her. Sparks had said she would be taking them (separately) to somewhere where she thought that they could have a better chance of connecting with the element.

Kitty tried hard to keep Sparks within her line of sight—the girl sure could move fast when she wanted to! And she was also much faster in the air without the hindrance of blindness. But after a few more twists and turns, they arrived at an old ruin, most likely a temple. Sparks explained that there were many ruins like this one, scattered throughout the Forest. Each one honored a separate element, and this was Light's temple.

"Here we are," announced Sparks, flying a little further into the ruins. "This is probably the best place around to attempt to connect to Light. Good luck!"

"Where are you going?" Kitty asked.

"I have to show Karma Spirit's temple."

Kurt looked a bit panicked. "What do I do?"

"You just wait. If she succeeds in connecting with Light, you'll know. That's when you may want to hold her hand." Sparks advised, and lifted off from the ground, wings whirring. "Good luck!" she called again, and was soon lost from sight, disappearing into the Forest.

Kitty swallowed. Did she really think she'd be able to accomplish this? She sat, cross-legged, on the stone ground, trying, almost desperately, to get some form of an answer.

Silence…

Then, abruptly, her world exploded into white.

* * *

_Kitty opened her eyes. She was standing in a plane of immense white; she herself seemed to be the only true color within this strange place. _

"_Where am I?" she whispered to herself—but even a whisper seemed loud here, echoing across the blank space._

_**Why have you come, Fallen?**_

_Kitty jumped at the sound of the voice and turned; an unusual sight greeted her._

_The manifestation of Light looked rather strange—it was practically a silhouette of white, outlined in gold, but there still seemed to be a sort of substance to the ethereal element. Kitty could see the being had long, spiky hair, and cat's ears. Broad, feathered wings rose up behind it. When Light smiled, a sort of vicious smile, Kitty could make out fangs in its teeth._

_**Why are you here?**__ it repeated, glowing white-gold eyes staring right at her._

_Kitty finally found her voice, and managed to stammer out, "I-I need y-y-your help."_

_The fangs showed a little more. __**Why would you require **_**my**_** help? **__Light sounded almost skeptical, if the manifestation of an element could be so._

"_I need to stop the Darkness." Kitty held its gaze, though she desperately wanted to look away from the fathomless, emotionless depths of gold-and-white._

_Light's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, showing genuine surprise and then slight mocking. __**Oh really? Have you truly bungled badly enough to allow the Darkness full manifestation?**_

_Kitty hung her head. "We didn't know it would happen…"_

_The element's eyes were impassive; Kitty didn't even know if she was getting through to it. After all, she wasn't even that old! And to think she'd been a human once, and would that make much of an impression on Light?_

_**You assume much, Fallen.**_

_Well, at least it wasn't an outright 'no'. "What do you mean by that?" Kitty asked, praying that she wasn't doing something wrong, or even offending Light._

_**We have fought the evil of the Darkness since the beginning of Time. And now you have allowed it to return? In as close to full form as it has ever been since its Creation? Foolish Fallen, you did not understand the consequences and thus you have doomed yourself and all those who inhabit your world.**_

_Kitty's heart sank. Light wouldn't help her? "We're doomed, then?" she whispered, more to herself than to the manifestation of the element Light; the realization that her plea hadn't worked sent her into a state of shock. She had failed! Unable to stop them, tears welled in her eyes and she dropped to her knees. She didn't want everyone to die!_

_She noticed Light crouching beside her, and she realized that her tears were having more of an effect on the element then all her words thus far. She lifted her head slowly, looking into the depths of the element's glowing white eyes._

"_I-I don't want everyone to die…" Kitty whispered, her own voice now sounding pitifully small._

_There was silence as Light regarded her, expressionless. Then…_

_**Fallen, do you truly wish to banish the Darkness?**_

_Kitty nodded quickly; she didn't care what the price was, so long as the Darkness disappeared. It had done too much harm already, screwing with everyone's lives._

_**You are honest, **__Light stated, __**and that works in your favor. **__The element reached out, and the tip of one finger rested against Kitty's forehead. Light spoke several, trilling words that Kitty was unable to understand, and white light began swirling around them. Kitty felt as though she was shrinking; distantly, she vaguely felt a hand slip into hers, and she smiled._

_Kurt hadn't forgotten._

_And Kitty let herself be lost in the gold and white colors._

_This was what she had to do._

* * *

Sparks led Karma and Fervior to a ruin similar to the one Kitty had gone to. In fact, they were all arranged in one huge circle within the Forest. She explained what they each had to do. "Karma, you try to bond with Spirit. Fervior, remember what I told you. Good luck!" Sparks flew off, presumably to go see if Kitty had succeeded.

Karma wondered, briefly, if Kitty had managed to commune with Light. She thought, _No matter. Spirit's the one I have to concentrate on._ She sat down, activating Spirit, letting her element wash over her.

She saw the world go white…

* * *

_Karma opened her eyes. She was standing on an immense field of softly glowing white (in truth it was similar to Light's dimension)_

"_Hello?" Her voice echoed back to her, seeming loud in this seemingly soundless plane._

_**Why have you come here, Fallen?**_

_Karma turned. A being stood there. Spirit. It had glowing eyes (identical to Light's, but did Karma know that?) Feathers seemed to be a part of its hair, practically interwoven, and wings like a huge eagle's rising up behind it. She could see fangs behind the emotionless smile._

"_I require your help," said Karma, remembering that it had spoken to her._

_**How so?**_

"_Darkness has fully manifested. We require the combined energy of Light and Spirit to drive it away."_

_**And how did you let this happen?**_

"_Well, I…" Karma paused, trying to think of a way to put it into words. Spirit regarded her silently; after a moment, it spoke._

_**Do you realize how many are gifted with my element?**_

"_Er…" Karma thought. "I don't know." She could think of three off the top of her head, but she wasn't sure if there were any more._

_**Three. **_

_Karma started to speak, but Spirit cut her off._

_**But you, and the former human, only received my element because you wielded all the elements, and thus received mine as well.**_

_Karma did the math, and said quietly, "So there was only one, to begin with."_

_**Yes. Only one.**_

_Karma swallowed. "Would you rather he be here, in my stead?"_

_Spirit tilted its head slightly. __**Perhaps.**_

"_Am I not worthy of your element as well? And what of Kitty?"_

_**He was the first, and might have been the only one to know my element. But then you came. **__Spirit glanced at her. __**You, with your ability to control all elements. And then the former human…said to be the Chosen One.**_

"_You mean…Kitty is…" Karma stared._

_**Perhaps. The elements are out of balance; the evil Darkness has returned. I would suggest you tend to that before the Prophecy.**_

"_I understand, but…"_

_**But? **__Spirit blinked slowly._

"_Will you help me?"_

_Spirit was silent for a couple of heartbeats; Karma watched the element, swallowing in a futile attempt to calm her nerves. Would it agree? Or would her quest have been in vain?_

_Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the element spoke._

_**Possibly you may be better than my chosen. You have not been corrupted by the Darkness.**_

"_That wasn't…my intention…" Karma trailed off._

_**I understand that. If it had, you would not be standing here now. **__The white eyes flashed._

"_Then…?" Karma looked up at the ethereal being, hardly daring to hope._

_**Do not make me regret this.**_

_Karma breathed a sigh of relief. Spirit would help her! The element placed the tip of one finger against Karma's forehead, saying a few words that Karma did not understand. White light flowed around them in a spiral._

_Was the element growing bigger, or she growing smaller? Karma faintly felt a hand grasp hers. At least he had remembered._

_Her world was fading into the spiraling white colors._

_This was what needed to happen._

* * *

Yup. I'm sure you noticed that Karma's interaction with the element was longer then Kitty's. Sorry about that, it was just that Karma had more to tak about, although Kitty's was more emotional. This seems like a longer chapter then normal when I looked through it, but the word count's average. Oh well. We got some tidbits, though, that'll appear in the sequel. (Yay!)

IMPORTANT! READ THIS OR ELSE YOU WILL BE VERY CONFUSED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Since Kitty and Karma have been 'taken over' by Light and Spirit, that's what I'm going to refer to them as. I will put this notice at the top of the next chapter as well, but something tells me most of the reviewers don't read the top Author's Notes, for reasons I don't know.

Remember:

Kitty = Light

Karma = Spirit

~ Shadey


	22. Fighting the Darkness

Where did all my reviewers go? Or are you all on vacation or something? *shrug* I'd like some reviews for this chapter, at least! We're almost done with this story, only about two more chapters to go! And then we can start the sequel! Yay! Read on, and remember to review!

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!

Since Kitty and Karma have been taken over by their respective elements, the elements is what I'll refer to them as - because Kitty and Karma are technically 'not there'. I put thus notice at the bottom of the last chapter as well, but if some of you don't read those, there's this one here.

Remember:

Kitty = Light

Karma = Spirit

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

22. Fighting the Darkness

Kurt waited alongside Light; it was still rather strange to him to think of the fact that the element Light had taken over Kitty's body. In all truth, the thought actually made him a little scared.

What if Kitty never came back?

He knew Karma would be in the same predicament, but hadn't Karma been alive longer? He shrugged to himself, keeping his eyes carefully focused forwards—he didn't want to look at Light.

Kitty looked relatively the same, in fact, which was what unnerved him—but she glowed with a golden light, and her eyes had turned golden as well. In his opinion, that wasn't Kitty. _No, it was Light._

Sparks flew in, landing beside them. "Spirit's coming," she said, apparently also not wanting to speak of Karma in the same way.

Almost seconds later, Karma and Fervior appeared, lighting down next to Light and Kurt. Karma looked much like the way Kitty had become, only difference being that Karma's glow was white, not gold, and her eyes also pale glowing white.

"…What do we do now…?" Kurt asked, blinking. He'd been expecting something more to happen.

"Well…" Sparks paused, thinking.

Kurt idly pulled at some grass, twirling it around. "Does the Darkness know what's happened?"

Sparks nodded. "Undoubtedly. The elements are interconnected; the Darkness would have known instantly when the balance of power changed—when Light and Spirit entered this world."

"Balance of power?" questioned Kurt, and Sparks shook her head.

"Never mind. We should be on the lookout in case Darkness attempts to attack."

"You think it would do that?"

"I don't know what it would do, which is the problem. Kitty already scouted out Treehaven, but we don't know if _and_ when the Darkness will take over Shade." Sparks sighed. "There are a lot of gaps here in the plan…"

"Yeah…" Kurt agreed, glancing over at Light and Spirit.

"Well, we've got to do something," grumbled Sparks.

Before Kurt had a chance to reply (although he did open his mouth), a black object came spinning out of the trees, embedding itself into the trunk of a nearby tree. It was a boomerang, a dark one, at that. Light pulled it from the bark of the tree, crushing it into tiny pieces, purifying it as the shards dropped to the ground.

A voice floated across the clearing.

"So you want to fight, do you?"

All present whirled to find the source of the voice—Shade, sitting in a tree at the far edge of the clearing. But she looked far different from what she used to—_normal_, anyways.

A dark aura hovered around the Fallen girl; it had taken the visage of black flames. Shade's eyes were purely black, and her mouth was twisted in a cruel, mocking smile. While Shade could grin 'evilly', she couldn't have attained that level of cruelty in one smile. This wasn't Shade—_it was the Darkness._

Realizing that no one had yet to answer, Kurt called out, "What did you do to Shade?"

The Darkness glanced down at him lazily, as if he were merely a bug, not worth its attention. "She's not here right now. _So _sorry." Sarcasm was evident in its voice. The black eyes passed over them all once.

"So you want to fight?" it repeated.

Sparks stepped forwards. "You want to fight us…?"

The Darkness laughed. "Why not? I'd be able to wipe you off the face of the earth, and who'd want to miss that? Come to the Ring of Tall Trees at evening, if you dare." There was a flicker among the shadowy flames, and Shade was gone.

Leaving Sparks, Kurt, Fervior, Light and Spirit to think of a plan.

"What are we going to do…?"

Sparks sighed. "I don't know."

"Will we even be able to defeat it?" asked Kurt, looking sullenly at the ground.

"The Darkness is a powerful adversary," conceded Sparks, "but we have Light and Spirit on our side, and both you and Fervior have at least basic fighting skills. I can use my dragon-form, if need be. I don't think even the Darkness will be able to fight all of us at once."

"True…" muttered Kurt.

"However, the Darkness is also clever—that's what's kept it around for all these years. And where it has set the battleground…this pushes the advantage to it." Sparks said, casting a glance upwards at the sun.

"How so? I've never heard of the 'Ring of Tall Trees' or whatever it said…" Kurt was confused.

Sparks sighed. "The Ring of Tall Trees is a clearing, deep in the Forest, aptly ringed by the tallest trees in the Forest. The reason the Darkness wished our fight to take place at evening was because of the shadows—they are longest at dusk, and that gives it the clear advantage, even though we outnumber it five to one."

"That puts a damper on things, now doesn't it?" grumbled Kurt.

"The only way to find out if we'll win…is to fight."

And fight, they would.

* * *

As Sparks had predicted, the shadows were long as they stepped into the clearing, the towering trees casting darkness across a good portion of the glade, the sky above them dark.

Shade was waiting, holding a large, black broadsword; fiendish black eyes alight with the thought of a challenge.

In the little time they had had left, the two non-elements (or Guardian) had armed themselves with a spear each and a sword in case the spear got chopped up. If the sword went, there were always daggers. After that, well…

The two elements conjured up their own weapons—Spirit had a bow, similar to the one that had once been Kitty's tooth, and had once belonged to Karma; Light had a glowing spear, and a chain with a sickle.

Sparks changed into dragon form—Kurt was vaguely curious as to why her fire didn't burn the grass or trees.

Kurt also had little time to wonder about the oddities of Light's curious weapon—he watched in utter surprise as the Darkness split into three—one for each group: Kurt and Light; Fervior and Spirit; and Sparks last.

"Wonderful…" muttered Kurt, readying his spear.

And the fight began.

* * *

Kurt found himself doing all right, for someone who'd rarely even held a weapon since today. Pure instinct was a powerful thing, it seemed. But the main target was not either himself or Light; it appeared to be that the Darkness was trying to get them to release each other's hands—without either all-elements wielder, apparently, they were doomed.

And they needed the elements to stay in this world a little longer.

He blocked another swipe at his head, panting slightly. Dusk had come and passed, and the shadows were fading into the night. Were they winning? It was hard to tell. At least neither of the elements seemed to be having any problems—both Light and Spirit appeared unscathed, while both he and Fervior had taken damage—he, himself had failed to parry a blow to his leg, and was now limping as a result. He didn't have enough energy to try to teleport. Fervior was doing better, so it appeared; only favoring one arm slightly.

Kurt couldn't tell which clone of Shade was the real one—or maybe none of them were; it all depended. He managed to scratch the Darkness in front of him—for that; he received a gash along one arm as a result.

Things were going blurry for a moment; then he shook his head and the spots cleared. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up—though he was fairly certain Light and Spirit could most definitely keep going; but even Sparks looked a little tired.

"I think…things are looking down…" he hissed at Light, who nodded once.

This was affirmed by an explosion of white light. Kurt's gaze flitted to the glowing white force field that had appeared between the Darkness and Spirit with Fervior.

"What happened…?" Kurt mumbled, and Light shrugged vaguely. Kurt got the vague feeling of being split into various light particles; then they were re-forming behind the shield. There were only two Darknesses now; the third had vanished.

"Wha…?" Kurt blinked, disoriented. Then he saw what had made Spirit create the barrier. Fervior had been hit, maybe one time too many. The formerly evil Fallen was lying against the grass, eyes closed. Spirit stood; ready to dispel the force field, when Kurt spoke.

"Don't!"

The elemental turned to face him, and he swallowed. "We want Karma to be able to come back."

Slowly Spirit nodded, sitting back down.

"What are we going to do now…?" groaned Kurt. He _really _wished Kitty was there to make up one of her strange-sounding plans that always worked out in the end.

Now there was only a single Darkness, back to the first one, no doubt—apparently it believed it could take them all out now that they were all in one place (as Sparks had reappeared behind the force field as well)

Kurt heard a faint noise and moved back just in time to avoid being hit by one of the spears. He was now very glad for his reflexes.

Fervior had woken up, picking up one of the spears (this was the one that had almost hit Kurt)

None were more surprised than Fervior when a strange, multi-colored light appeared at the tip of his spear.

Kurt stared and asked, "Are you…doing that?"

Fervior shook his head, staring as well.

"If it's not yours…and it's not any of the rest of ours, then…whose magic is it?" questioned Kurt.

Fervior shrugged, hefting the spear in one hand. Spirit dispelled the force field, and Kurt blinked at the sudden disappearance of the white light.

Kurt and Light started forwards, helping out Sparks in distracting the Darkness. Meanwhile, Fervior's spear had acquired gold and white light, spiraling down from the orb of shifting multi-colored light attached to the top of the spear.

Staring at the light a moment longer, Fervior flung the spear.

Even if the spear had been widely off-course, Kurt had no doubt that it still would have hit its target—the energies of the opposite magicks drew each other together.

An explosion of white washed the clearing, and Kurt saw nothing more, save for two orbs of light fading into the now-bright sky…

* * *

Well, well, well! What on earth is going on now? What, exactly, was the multi-colored lights? Suggestions, anyone? Some questions will be answered next chapter (Yay!) This story's almost over! About two chapters to go, to be precise! At least the sequel will be longer! This chapter was all right, in my opinion, but I fail at fight scenes, sorry… Anyways, you know you want to review! Dooo ittt!

~ Shadey


	23. Within the Shadows

Yes, I know I haven't updated in almost two weeks. There's three reasons for this: 1) I had writer's block and couldn't really think of anything to do for this chapter (although now we will hit twenty-five chapters!) 2) I had the plotbunnies going after me with random ideas for other stories, and last, and probably least too 3) I was lazy and a procrastinator. Yup, I said it! I was being an addict to online RPGs and didn't really think about this story for at least a week. But now I've figured out what I want done, and the next update will be quicker, I assure you! Read on, readers and reviewers, and enjoy the latest chapter of Fallen Angel!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

23. Within the Shadows

_Kitty blinked open her eyes slowly, then closed them again; the bright onslaught of light was too much for her eyes. Slowly, she opened first one eye, then the second, finding the bright light to be a little more tolerable. She looked around. There was practically nothing to see—all there was in this strange place was…light._

_And lots of it, too._

_Kitty grumbled to herself. Is this where people were sent when their bodies were taken over by elements? If so, then Karma must be here too! Eagerly she looked around, but the light was unending, unbroken._

_Sighing, she forced herself to start walking._

_Because there was probably a lot of walking and/or flying ahead of her._

* * *

_Silence blanketed the white realm; Kitty yawned. She'd been here a while, ri__ght? Might as well just let herself go to sleep…_

_After all, it wouldn't be for too long…_

_Just a quick nap…_

* * *

_It seemed as though her eyes had only just closed and she was being shaken awake. "Mmph…?" mumbled Kitty, blinking and shifting her gaze upwards, meeting clear blue eyes._

"_Karma?" asked Kitty._

_The first all-elements wielder looked over at her. "Ah, Kitty, you're awake."_

"_When did you get here?" Confusion colored Kitty's voice._

"_A while ago," Karma shrugged._

"_So…you managed to contact Spirit?" Kitty asked._

"_Yeah… You connected to Light, I see."_

_Kitty nodded absently; "We just sit here, then?"_

"_Pretty much. Hopefully the others will be able to defeat the Darkness. That was the entire reason we summoned Light and Spirit…" murmured Karma. _

"_We're expected to just sit here? I don't know about you, but I'm already bored…" grumbled Kitty._

_Karma smiled faintly. "Why not talk? I have never met another who held my abilities before you."_

_Kitty paused. "I've had them forever…even when I was a human."_

"_You were born with them?"_

_Kitty nodded._

_Karma frowned. "This is very strange…"_

"_Why?" Kitty stared at her. _

_Karma shook her head. "Never mind. I am sure you will learn of it anyways soon enough."_

_Kitty frowned. What did Karma mean? Was the fact that she had had her powers as a human significant somehow? She didn't know, but someone was sure to tell her eventually, and Karma had even said 'you will learn of it anyways'. She was just tired of being the last to know about everything, and/or understand something._

"_So…" Kitty mumbled, trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts, thinking of something to talk about. "How do you use Spirit?"_

_Karma blinked, as though not having expected that question. She laughed quietly and held up one hand, an orb of Spirit power appearing before her. "It is not hard for me," she said. "But I have had long training sessions to understand it. I suspect it only truly comes easily for one person and them alone."_

_Kitty nodded. "So would it work for me?"_

"_I do not know." Karma let the Spirit orb dissolve. "You can control the other elements, yes, but Spirit does not really exist within the minds of many." She paused. "I learned of Spirit when I was twelve, and I had already shown signs of controlling all the other elements as well. I could easily tap into the other elements, but Spirit was another story. The only one who could teach me anything was Fervior. And he gave me this advice: The key to unlocking Spirit lies within your soul."_

_Kitty frowned. "Is that some sort of cryptic riddle or something?"_

_Karma smiled. "Perhaps," she said mysteriously. "And that is what I shall tell you, in turn."_

"_But it makes no sense!" Kitty pretested. "How am I supposed to use Spirit? What's this key?"_

_But Karma only smiled and shook her head, saying, "You'll understand, with time."_

_Kitty crossed her arms and glared at the non-existent ground, muttering, "That is oh-so-helpful."_

_Karma laughed. "I didn't understand it at first either. But trust me; knowledge will come, just give it time."_

_Kitty sighed, but she accepted the other's judgement; after all, Karma knew more about her abilities than Kitty did, at any rate._

_She sighed and thought back to why they were here, in this plane, in the first place. What had happened? Had anything happened at all? Was everyone still alive? (Though she supposed she'd be able to figure out if any of them had died, a morbid thought) She voiced her concerns, and Karma's eyes darkened._

"_I do not know of what has transpired within the material world," she said carefully. "Although I could try to make a window perhaps, though you must remember that we cannot affect reality, not while we are trapped within this plane."_

_Kitty nodded carefully; she just wanted to know. "Can you try?"_

_Karma gave a little sigh, but nodded all the same. She closed her eyes, a faint, silvery light glowing around her. Kitty closed her eyes in case there was going to be any sort of flashing lights, but there was only a slight shimmering in the air, and when she opened her eyes, an oval mirror hung in the air between her and Karma._

_Karma reached out and placed one hand against the surface. "Show us our friends," she commanded, and the surface of the mirror rippled, displaying a picture._

_Kitty could see faint shadows at the edges; were they in some sort of clearing? All within held weapons, as far as she could tell: Kurt and Fervior each had a sword and spear, perhaps more; Sparks had a spear, but she had already shifted to dragon form; Spirit had a bow, with a arrow notched at the string while Light had a spear, and a sickle (which really made Kitty wonder—why the sickle?) and Shade, looking much more evil than she ever had before, was carrying a large broadsword._

"_Well…" Kitty muttered, staring; "They've certainly got a lot of weapons…"_

_She was then very surprised when the Darkness split into three—evidently, one for each group, and apparently Sparks was enough of a threat to warrant having a Darkness clone to fight with by herself._

"_I was _so_ not expecting that…" mumbled Kitty, while Karma didn't say anything, simply watching the mirror through narrowed blue eyes. Was she worried? If so, what about? Or maybe _who_ was the right word?_

_Kitty asked quietly, "Do you think they'll be able to defeat the Darkness?"_

_Karma shook her head. "I do not know. We can only hope."_

_So she wasn't willing to even think about the outcome?_

_Maybe it was best that way—Kitty didn't want to think about it either._

_She realized she was drifting off; she re-focused her attention on the mirror; while she'd been off in her own thoughts, the battle had begun._

_Kitty couldn't really follow what was happening; was it just her or did it seem a little fast? But it was obvious that Karma was paying attention, because when an explosion of white light appeared in the mirror's depiction, Karma's eyes widened and she leaned forwards, staring. _

_Kitty inched closer to the mirror as well, asking, "What? What happened?"_

_Images flicked across the mirror, and Kitty stared, too, as she realized what had happened. Karma was silent, but then her eyes fell on something within the image; she stood slowly._

"_Er, Karma? What are you doing?" asked Kitty._

_Her pre-incarnation turned to her excitedly. "I've remembered! We can't affect the material world as we are, but our _powers_ can, if we affix them to something else!"_

"…_What?" Kitty blinked._

"_The spear!" Karma said quickly, pointing to the object in question. Kitty frowned. "So you're saying…we can attach our powers to that spear?"_

_Karma nodded. _

"_And how, exactly, do we do that?"_

_Karma extended one hand towards Kitty, the other touching the surface of the mirror. Hesitantly, Kitty took her hand, mimicking Karma's stance._

_She could feel the elemental power flooding through her, guided by Karma's directions. She watched the mirror's image, only slightly surprised when an orb of multi-colored light appeared at the tip of the spear. It grew slowly as she and Karma channeled their energy; Kitty closed her eyes, focusing on the elements._

_Kitty opened her eyes again slowly; the mirror had gone white. She could feel herself dissolving slowly—was the battle over? But then she realized she could still feel the Darkness._

_How was it still around? She answered that question in her own head; there was probably still some attached to Shade. Before Karma could stop her, she leaped forwards, fully expecting to hit a cold wall._

_Yet she passed right through the mirror with barely a ripple against the cool surface; before she had a chance to do anything at all, everything spun away into nothingness._

* * *

So now we know what the multi-colored lights are! Yay! But now we have more confusing questions, though: Kitty jumped through the mirror, but where did she end up? You'll just have to wait and find out! I swear I will update quicker next time! Really! Getting close to the end, we are! Review please, because I'd at least like to get to 75 reviews before the end of this story!

~ Shadey


	24. Defeat the Darkness in Your Heart

Hiya, all! This story only has one more chapter to go! I'm sad, but every story has an ending, and at least this one has a sequel! So watch out for that! Read on, readers and reviewers, the newest chapter of Fallen Angel!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

24. Defeat the Darkness in Your Heart

_Kitty became aware she was floating. She blinked open her eyes but could see nothing, nothing at all. Where was she again?_

_She recalled her memories. She had jumped through the mirror in the realm of whiteness, where she'd been watching the others fight the Darkness… But what had been the point of leaping through the mirror? And more importantly, where had she come to? _

_Because she had no idea where she was. Not one clue._

* * *

Kurt opened his eyes slowly. He sat up and looked around; the presences of Light and Spirit had vanished—the two orbs of light he'd seen in the sky, perhaps?

He could see that Sparks and Fervior were awake, and Karma was beginning to stir. Yet neither Kitty nor Shade (on the opposite side of the clearing) showed any sign of waking.

"Kitty?" He knelt beside her. He shook her, pinched her, even yelled in her ear, but no response came. Everyone turned to Karma, who said quietly, in an almost confused/awed tone, "She jumped through the mirror…"

"What do you mean she jumped through the mirror? What mirror?" Kurt questioned, glancing back at Kitty.

Karma only shook her head, glancing down at the ground.

Where had Kitty gone?

* * *

_Kitty wandered through the darkness. "Hello?" Her voice echoed back at her. "…Ello…ello…ello…"_

"_Where am I?" she mumbled, half to herself, half to anything that happened to be watching and/or listening to her right now._

_A second voice floated to her. "…anyone there? Hello?"_

Oh good!_ Kitty thought, _Someone else's here!

_She ran through the shadows, listening for the sound of the second voice, occasionally yelling back, but she had no idea if the voice's source had heard her at all._

_Kitty didn't realize how long she followed the second voice (it sounded familiar…but who could it have been?) but soon, she noticed that the edges of the shadows were drawing back; she was nearing a faint circle of pale white light. _

"_Hello?" she called nervously, spying a figure in the center. Tentatively Kitty entered the small circle, now understanding that it was a person sitting within the light._

_The person did not speak; only lifting their head, and Kitty gasped involuntarily before saying quietly, incredulously, "Shade…?"_

* * *

Kurt paced around the clearing. Why did it seem like this kept happening? Kitty's soul seemed to have an appetite for wandering, and not sticking where it was supposed to be.

Karma had told them all about what had transpired within the realm she and Kitty had been sent to after contacting the elements. She had told them about the mirror, and had surmised that not only was it a window, but it had brought Kitty's soul back to the clearing, at least. She had explained that Kitty had probably felt something, but had not expected the mirror to give. Now, her soul was somewhere beyond their reach, doing who knows what, and they must wait until she resolved whatever she had gone to do.

Kurt growled. He didn't want to let Kitty face whatever she was confronting alone, but she seemed to keep getting into places where no one, including him, could follow.

But he had to trust Kitty.

* * *

_Kitty and Shade sat together in the light and talked. First, Kitty asked what this place was, exactly. Shade looked around and shrugged. "No idea. But it seems kinda familiar, but I don't know why."_

_Kitty wondered how such a place could look familiar to anyone, but she supposed it was something, at least._

"_How did you get here?" asked Shade, giving her a curious glance._

"_Oh, I…jumped through a mirror," admitted Kitty._

"_That's possible?"_

"_In alternate dimensions, yes, it is," Kitty said firmly, nodding._

_Shade shook her head in exasperation. "This is starting to feel like one of our training sessions…"_

"_Should I take that as a compliment, or an insult?" Kitty asked._

"…_Never mind…" muttered Shade, having learned long ago not to bother arguing with Kitty for long—sometimes it ended up not making sense to anyone._

_Kitty abandoned the conversation and looked around slowly. A sort of idea was coming to her. She faced Shade. "Didn't you say this place seemed familiar?"_

_Shade nodded, looking a little confused but complied nonetheless._

"_I think I know where we are."_

"_Where?"_

"_We're within your heart."_

"…_What?"_

* * *

Kurt watched Kitty silently. She had yet to wake up, and he could only hope she was accomplishing what she had set out to do. There was a rustle as Karma appeared next to him.

Kitty's former incarnation spoke quietly. "I understand now where the mirror transported her."

Kurt's ears perked up and he swiveled to meet her clear blue gaze. "And?"

Instead of answering, Karma stood, beckoning to him. "Come."

Confused, yet curious, the blue Fallen trailed behind the first all-elements wielder as she led the way across the clearing, stopping beside the still form of Shade.

Kurt blinked. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

Karma smiled softly. "You are looking at where Kitty has gone."

"She…went into Shade?"

Karma nodded. "Kitty is attempting to destroy all traces of Darkness within Shade. Whether or not she shall succeed, however…"

The end of her sentence hung in the air. Kurt nodded; there wasn't much he could do…right?

* * *

_Shade frowned and looked around. "If this is my heart…then why are there so many shadows?"_

_Kitty glanced outside the circle of light. "My guess is that's what remains of the Darkness. Somehow, we've got to get rid of it."_

"_How?" Shade questioned. "There's no Light or Spirit to help us out here."_

"_True…" Kitty sighed._

"_What do we do now, then?"_

"_I…don't know."_

_Silence pervaded between them, as both tried to come up with a plan._

* * *

Kurt sighed. "There has to be something I can do…Kitty…"

Karma watched him off to the side. She hoped he figured out what he had to do. After all…

What was a priestess without her guardian?

* * *

_Kitty was pacing in circles. "We've got to think of something!"_

_Shade was looking back and forth between the shadows and the circle of light. She mused, "Maybe we can use the elements…"_

"_Oh?" Kitty looked over at her curiously._

"_We can try being Dark and Light. The two opposite elements will cancel each other out, and we'll be free to go."_

_Kitty nodded. "Sounds like a plan!"_

_They sat at opposite sides of the circle of light. Shade was to be Dark, and Kitty would be Light._

"_Let's make this work!"_

_A swirling black-and-white design appeared beneath their feet. Shade's part of the circle became black, while Kitty's turned white._

_Even as they began attempting their plan, Kitty realized something: there was simply too much darkness for her to try to cancel it out by herself. She felt like the lone star within a sea of night. _

_As the blackness threatened to overtake her half of the circle, Kitty called out to the one she trusted the most, even though she knew that he would be unable to hear her:_

"_Help me, Kurt!"_

* * *

Kurt stiffened in shock. Had he really just heard Kitty's voice? Calling for him, no less?

"Kitty?" he whispered, half to himself, in order to make sure no one else heard him. He got the feeling no one else could hear him, because at that moment, an orb of white light had appeared before him.

And from that sphere, a voice emanated: _"She needs your help, guardian. Go to her!"_

For a moment Kurt's vision blurred, and he saw an azure-blue flame hovering before him, then he felt himself crumple to the ground.

And the light swallowed him…

* * *

_Kitty shut her eyes; she couldn't believe she was about to be swamped by darkness, and more than likely might end up dying. All she could think about was Kurt, and how she had never told him…_

_Suddenly she felt a familiar warmth blaze next to her, and her eyes opened in shock. Standing next to her was Kurt! Was it her imagination? Kurt grinned that lopsided way of his and she knew it was really him. He held out his hand, and she gratefully took it, feeling her half of the circle light up once more._

_As the two powers collided, there was a brief thundering noise; then everything faded into white._

* * *

Kitty blinked open her eyes. She sat up, recalling dimly the tall trees she'd seen from the mirror. "We made it…" she murmured, half to herself, half to anyone who happened to be listening.

Kurt was sitting beside her. "We did it," he agreed. "We defeated the Darkness!"

Kitty nodded, smiling in relief.

Everything was good. They were all alive, and the Darkness was gone.

It was over.

And Kitty and her friends had won.

* * *

This chapter may have seemed a bit choppy, but that's because it's jumping between standpoints. The orb of light and why it called Kurt 'Guardian will be explained in the last chapter - which is also the next chapter (the epilogue) Please review? I'd like to hit 75 and know I got at least three-quarters of the way to 100!

~ Shadey


	25. Epilogue

This is the last chapter! I can finally change the status to 'Complete'! This was a fun story to write, and I hope you all had fun reading it! I'm almost to 75 reviews, just two more, you know you want to help me out! Anyways, please enjoy the final chapter of _Fallen Angel_! Read on!

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

* * *

_**Fallen Angel**_

25. Epilogue

Life felt good. Kitty and her friends had defeated the Darkness, hopefully for good, and things went back to normal.

Karma and Fervior lived outside Treehaven, in the Forest—since one of them was supposed to be evil and the other supposed to be dead, they had elected to not come to Treehaven, since random chaos was the last thing any of them wanted, especially after saving the world, and whatnot. It just seemed like too much extra work (and, of course, no one wanted that)

Sparks had returned to the Shrine of Stars, after having promised to visit every once in a while. Kitty knew they hadn't seen the last of her—Sparks enjoyed scaring Kitty too much.

Kurt, Shade and Kitty went back to Treehaven, though sometimes they left and went to talk to Karma about some things.

They'd gone to talk to her the day after the battle, since Kurt had some questions for her.

Kurt had told her about how he had helped Kitty fight the Darkness, and (also having previously explained to Kitty about what had happened) about how he had gotten there in the first place. He asked what the light was, and why it had called him 'guardian'.

Karma had thought it over and told them that they were lucky; indeed, very lucky.

Kitty, of course, asked why. The trend of asking many questions was quickly becoming a sort of personality trait associated with Kitty nowadays.

Karma had smiled and told Kurt and Kitty that the light was the physical representation of the First Fallen—as the First Fallen could not leave their own dimension, they had become light instead, and gone to Kurt; evidently Kitty was important to the First Fallen, for they had guided Kurt to her. As for the reason he had been called 'guardian'… Karma said that every priestess has a guardian, whether they know it or not. Apparently Kurt was Kitty's guardian. And Kitty asked Karma who her guardian was, a logical question considering the conversation at hand, and the first all-elements wielder only smiled, saying, "At least I know now."

Whatever that meant—Kitty was beginning to realize Karma was fond of cryptic riddles, and she didn't want to try to dissect her words.

Kurt and Kitty were walking back to Treehaven.

"So…you're my guardian?" Kitty asked curiously, still trying to get used to the idea herself.

Kurt grinned, showing off his fangs. "I suppose so."

Kitty smiled. "Although I'm thinking you're going to have a hard time with guarding duty—I'm a magnet for trouble!"

"And don't I know it!" agreed Kurt, laughing.

Kitty laughed as well, knowing he was right. The adventure they'd had—probably all because of her venturing into the Forest all that long ago (was it really only a few weeks ago? To her it seemed like a lifetime, perhaps)

Well, maybe not, but the more likely explanation was her turning up as an all-elements wielder. Maybe that set everything into motion—Kitty supposed she might never know.

She thought back, to when she was still an almost-normal human living in Girva. So many things had happened since then, beginning with her sneaking off to the Forest to see some Fallen.

Then she had met Kurt and Shade, and Fira, in turn…

And that had started the cycle that had brought her to the Forest for good, living in Treehaven; training; finding the weird tooth (she still had yet to figure out who exactly had sent to her, and where on earth they had obtained such an odd container, and how they'd gotten the tooth inside in the first place)

That had somehow led to Kurt being kidnapped, and Kitty herself learning about Fervior; Treehaven being attacked and Sparks and her escaping; finding Kurt again, and in turn escaping from the underground hideaway; getting swept along to the Valley of Mists…

Then they had found the fairies, gone to the Shrine of Stars; opened the gateway between their world and the first Fallen's realm; fought Fervior; Sparks had explained a lot of things to Kitty; Kitty had learned how to use a bow; and then Fervior had sent them all to the strange chamber of darkness…

And then Kitty had used Spirit, Dark, and Light together, freeing Karma—boy, was that a surprise; they learned the Darkness had taken over Shade; summoning Light and Spirit to help do battle…

And last of all Kitty had had yet another out-of-body experience, banishing the last of the Darkness (with Kurt's help, of course)

All in all, she felt rather well-traveled, for only having been here a few weeks.

But now that she thought about it all together, their story seemed pretty unbelievable.

However, it was the truth. She knew it—she'd been through it.

And she was sticking to it, no matter what.

* * *

Kitty stood on the porch of her tree house—the one she had been given before, which she had managed to find again, surprisingly enough, and was sitting outside, watching the sun set behind the mountains, giving the clouds and treetops an orange glow.

She was feeling pretty good about herself. Everyone was alive (a plus) there was no more 'great evil' lurking in the Forest that the Fallen were afraid of, she'd learned a whole lot about herself, her companions, and her own great power, and she'd even managed to save the world while she was at it! How's that for being new to the game?

Kitty watched as the sun sank beneath the horizon, and the pale purple color of dusk covered the sky.

She'd done it.

She had destroyed the Darkness—well, at least the evil, malicious part of it. Because without dark, light could not exist, and Kitty was not quite willing to believe she'd unbalanced the order of the world (and she still couldn't think about the fact that she'd defeated the Darkness without feeling a sense of supreme pride in herself for her part)

She almost didn't see the faint flash of light as Karma appeared; Kitty stared at her former incarnation, managing to say, "I thought you didn't have the power of teleportation…"

Karma laughed. "I don't."

"Then how…?"

"Simple." The first all-elements wielder tilted her head to one side. "Moving through something that already exists by manipulating the element most associated with it—in this case, I used light."

"Huh." Kitty thought this over, and decided, some time, Karma was going to teach her that trick. She paused, suddenly the thought coming to mind that there must be a reason Karma had come here. She voiced the question aloud. "Um, is there something you've come here for?"

"Actually, yes," Karma nodded slightly, tapping her fingers on the porch railing. "I know you encountered the Darkness before…"

Kitty scrambled upright with a jolt of fear. "It's not coming back, is it?" she blurted out, eyes growing wide.

To her intense relief, Karma shook her head. "No," she said, "we annihilated all traces of that evil with our power."

Slowly Kitty sat back down again, feeling a little relieved but also apprehensive, as to what Karma was here for, what she wanted to say. "So what do you mean, then?"

Karma looked as though she were thinking of the right way to say it. Finally she spoke. "I meant that while you have seen the Darkness's evil, it is but one aspect of evil. There are others, smaller seeds of shadows, not like the Darkness with its overflowing evil, but evil nonetheless."

"Okay…" Kitty nodded, not sure where she was going with this, but understanding in the slightest bit what she was saying. "And this has to do with us, how?"

Karma looked at her with a steady, clear gaze. "You are of the Fallen, who are descended from the First One and are depicted in the likeness of fallen angels. Kurt has met the First One, albeit distantly, and the First One is the closest thing to a god that the Fallen have. You have met the oldest of the fey—being the Tribe of the Moon in the Valley of Mists, and the dragon fairy-Fallen that guards the Shrine of the Stars. And there are many creatures outside of the Forest that you have even yet to see—great beings like the hawk-people of the north, the elves bonded to dragons living within the borders of the western mountains, even the occasional odd traveler in the Forest with their own secrets, and, on the briefest of occasions, a fallen star given human form."

Kitty listened, still unsure of Karma's purpose in naming these things, in explaining this.

Karma looked over her clasped hands to Kitty, clear eyes glittering in the rising moon's light, reflecting the silver light like two mirrors. "However, Kitty…" she murmured, her last words ringing in Kitty's ears.

"…_have you ever heard of demons?"_

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

Wow, so was that like some sort of last cliffhanger? Geez, these things are addicting to make! The sequel will be coming out, rest assured, but I have to start it first! In the meantime, review, because I will give you chocolate-chip cookies~!

~ Shadey


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